By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

MADISON, Ill. — By now many race enthusiasts are aware that E85 offers race-gas octane fuel at below-regular pump prices, giving drivers and their crews a “green” way to race into the future.

But the question remains: Just how quick can a high-performance Mustang conquer the quarter-mile, running on E85 fuel?

Thanks to Mustang 5.0 magazine, the Illinois Corn Growers Assoc. (ICGA), the Illinois Corn Marketing Board and Center Ethanol, that question will be answered during the E85 Mustang Shootout, scheduled for 9 a.m. on Oct. 15 at the Gateway International Raceway in Madison. Ten drivers from across the United States have been selected from submissions to participate in the event, billed as the first of its kind in the nation.

The rules are simple: Have a Ford Mustang set up to run on E85.
“The requirements are pretty loose,” said Mark Lambert,
communications director for the ICGA, “and some cars are made more for drag (racing) while others are basically street vehicles with monstrous horsepower. It’s going to be interesting.”

Lambert said a “big part” of the event will be collecting information useful in evaluating overall racecar performance while running on E85. Admission to the public is free.

Steve Shrader of Mt. Holly, N.C., has been a Mustang enthusiast since 1999. He recently left his job of 10 years with Wachovia to embark on a career as a garage owner. He’s spent the past couple of years modifying his 1999 Mustang Coupe, nicknamed BrightMare, so the car’s fuel system would be compatible with E85.
He’s excited about bringing the street-legal coupe to Gateway, which is located along Interstate 55 near St. Louis, Mo.

“Finding out there would be an entire event based around E85 was pretty big for us,” said Shrader, who feels that using E85 instead of race fuel not only saves money but is safer for higher-horsepower engines.

“You are not at as high of a risk for blowing your engine (with E85). Due to the characteristics of ethanol with its 105-octane reading, it burns cooler in a racecar – the most ideal situation there is. It’s like race fuel, but instead of paying $13 per gallon for race fuel we’re paying $3.30 to $3.50 (in the Charlotte, N.C., area) for E85.”

Shrader was tipped to E85 by a racing friend who extolled its virtues as an alternative to expensive race fuel. He began to amass all the information he could on the corn-based fuel, which Shrader said is difficult to find in North Carolina.

“I found out that there was not a lot involved in changing over a fuel system to be able to run on E85,” he said. “I ran the factory engine in the car on E85 for about a year and a half before we went really crazy with it. The biggest change is adjusting the tune in the computer, which dictates how much fuel to spray into the engine.
“Using E85, you have to burn about 20 percent more fuel at part throttle, and at wide open throttle, you have to add about 40 percent more fuel. If the computer isn’t changed, your engine will be in danger. We also had to change to larger fuel injectors because of all of our added performance features.”

BrightMare’s E85 fuel system now features an Aeromotive A1000 complete return style system with regulator, 60-pound injectors, a sumped fuel tank and custom, pro-dyno tuning using an Xeal2, Shrader said.

In addition to Shrader, Mustang owners from Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, Texas and Illinois will trek to the speedway to compete for the title of E85 Mustang “king.” The competition will help validate the time and expense the cars’ owners spent modifying their Mustangs to perform at raceway speeds on E85.
“(It’s become) my own little obsession,” Shrader admitted.
On the Web: www.BrightMare.net and www.50mustangandsuperfords.com