There may be no better place to demonstrate the power of American bioethanol than on the high banks of Iowa Speedway.
Surrounded by seemingly endless rows of corn, the seven-eighths-mile track rises from the Iowa countryside like a real-life Field of Dreams. Only here, the players wear fire suits, the field is concrete, and the fastballs travel more than 150 miles per hour.
At this year’s NASCAR Cup Series race in August, the Iowa Corn 350 powered by Ethanol, Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet — sporting a fresh red, white, and blue paint scheme — took to the track and delivered a performance worthy of the setting. Dillon raced near the front throughout the opening stage, running fifth when the green-and-white checkered flag flew. After a demanding afternoon filled with door-to-door racing, changing track conditions, and pit road strategy, he brought the iconic No. 3 home in 10th place.
It was Dillon’s second Top 10 finish of the season and an appropriate result for a race car carrying a message rooted in Iowa agriculture.
For the farmers watching from the grandstands, the corn surrounding the speedway represented far more than scenery. It represented a homegrown, renewable energy source that strengthens rural America, expands demand for our grain, and reduces the country’s reliance on foreign oil.
This season, that story has taken another significant step forward. POET, NASCAR’s Official Bioethanol Partner, is supplying zero-carbon bioethanol for NASCAR’s Sunoco race fuel. Although NASCAR has successfully run on E15 since 2011, logging more than 25 million competitive miles, the bioethanol blended into the fuel now carries zero lifecycle carbon intensity.
That means NASCAR continues to deliver the high-octane, dependable performance demanded by elite motorsports while demonstrating what advanced agriculture, biotechnology, and carbon management can accomplish.
At Iowa Speedway, the connection was visible in every direction. Corn grown in American soil helps support American jobs, American energy security, and the fuel powering America’s most popular motorsport. The No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet brought this riveting story together at lightning speed.
A Top 10 finish also reinforced an important point: Lower carbon does not mean lower performance. Bioethanol’s naturally high octane makes it exceptionally well-suited for high-compression engines, which are found in almost every passenger vehicle today. On that warm Sunday afternoon, Dillon put that performance on display through every restart, every pass, and every hard-fought lap.
Iowa has long been known for turning seeds into opportunity. This race offered another example, transforming what begins in a farmer’s field into high-performance, renewable fuel capable of competing at one of racing’s biggest stages.
