Will NASCAR Help With Alternative Energy?
NASCAR and the Detroit automakers used to be connected at the hip. Whatever was going on in Detroit made its way onto a NASCAR track and there was instant advertising. That is not so much the case any more.
NASCAR certainly uses plenty of cars and plenty of advertising, but times have changed, and in the wake of the current fuel crisis, times at NASCAR may have to change even more.
It’s not as if NACAR will be slowing down their races or using alternative fuels tomorrow. After all, NASCAR reluctantly started using unleaded fuel long after the public did, and it certainly hasn’t hurt the sport any.
There are some ideas about what NASCAR can do to help with the current fuel crisis. They have long since gone to smaller engines, but it has been suggested that less horsepower might be a good idea. Nearly 900 horsepower is a ton of horsepower which is probably not really needed to run a good race. NASCAR is reportedly looking at the issue to see if less horsepower is a viable proposition.
One thing that NASCAR is beginning to do is to look at the idea of using pace cars that run on alternative fuels. This is a great idea in many respects. First of all, pace cars don’t affect the actual race, so speed won’t be a factor. In addition, General Motors has given out some hydrogen powered SUVs to major racing figures, such as Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon just to ride around town in.
This high-visibility, low-key, low-pressure approach to getting vehicles – especially popular SUV’s – powered by alternative energy out into the community, especially when driven by NASCAR legends, is an intelligent marketing campaign which could help people in a subtle way become aware of the fact that there are choices when it comes to the vehicles they drive. In the back of their minds they will be thinking of this as they determine what type of vehicle to purchase.
Who knows if NASCAR will ever race hydrogen-powered cars, but the idea of driving around town in them and hopefully using pace cars with alternative fuel could be NASCAR’s contribution to helping solve the fuel crisis.