“Only in
America ”
NASCAR inducts biofuels
Champ Richard Childress
He grew up in poverty in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina. At age 17, he purchased his first racecar —
an old 1947 Plymouth — for $20. He went on to win
six championships in NASCAR’s premier series, with
Dale Earnhardt, and has been making automotive
history ever since. performance benefits of higher-octane, homegrown
fuels,” said Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy.
“We could not be more excited to join loyal fans
across the country in celebrating his recognition
by the Hall of Fame.”
He’s Richard Childress, a biofuels champion, owner
of Richard Childress Racing, and Growth Energy
board member who was inducted into the NASCAR
Hall of Fame this year. Childress got his start in 1969 and earned 76 top-10
finishes in 285 races before handing over driving
duties to Dale Earnhardt in 1981. He founded Richard
Childress Racing, a 17-time NASCAR championship-
winning organization with more than 200 victories
that continues to drive innovation in the sport.
“Only in America could a kid selling peanuts and
popcorn at Bowman Gray Stadium have a dream of
becoming a race driver someday,” said Childress
during a speech at his Hall of Fame induction. “Only
in America. What a great country we live in.”
Just like Childress, ethanol is an American success
story that’s helping us be more energy independent
all while reducing our impact on the environment
and giving drivers a choice at the pump.
“Richard Childress helped introduce the sport
to ethanol, demonstrating time and again the
18
10 million miles of progress
In 2011, Childress was among the leaders who
helped launch the NASCAR Green initiative,
which included a switch to Sunoco Green E15,
a powerful blend containing 15 percent American
ethanol. Since then, NASCAR has surpassed 10
million miles on the fuel.
E15 is also available off the track. American con-
sumers have driven more than 750 million miles on
the blend, reducing emissions, saving money, and
boosting engine performance.
AMERICAN ETHANOL THE MAGAZINE