Burn Tires,
Not Gas
Kyle Mohan Racing puts
E15 to the test
If you’ve seen a “Fast and Furious” movie, a
Volkswagen commercial or a music video, there’s a
good chance you’ve seen Kyle Mohan. He’s accel-
erating his career as a drift racing champion, racing
team owner, entrepreneur, stunt driver, brand am-
bassador, and ethanol fan — all at full power.
“I’m into extreme sports, working with my hands,
and using my artistic skills to build motors,”
said Mohan, 35, of Long Beach, Califor-
nia. “I’m always on a quest for more
horsepower and reliability — and,
along the way, I discovered ethanol.”
E15 provides a perfect fit with
drifting, which emphasizes car
control and speed and has
become the fastest growing
motorsport in the world.
“Everyone in this sport is always pur-
suing more horsepower,” said Mohan,
who established Kyle Mohan Racing in
2007 and competes in the GT-Radial/Mazdatrix
Mazda MX-5 in Formula Drift. “I started experiment-
ing on my own with ethanol and was so impressed
with its performance that I started using it in our
racing program nearly seven years ago.”
Even when Mohan received an incentive for free
fuel, he passed on it when he found out it didn’t
contain ethanol. “Our industry picked up on ethanol
really fast,” he noted. “About 85 percent of the field
runs ethanol today.”
“Tree hugger” in the fast lane
As a cleaner-burning, non-corro-
sive fuel, ethanol can also help
engines last longer by reducing
carbon buildup, added Mohan,
a highly sought-after builder of
Mazda rotary engines.
“My motors cost $30,000-plus.
Racers want to protect their
investment, just like you want to
protect your investment in your
car. If we can make our motors last an
extra race, that’s huge.”
It’s almost an added bonus that ethanol is a less
expensive, homegrown, sustainable, eco-friendly
fuel that reduces harmful air emissions. This is
important to Mohan and his wife, Adrienne, an
environmental scientist who manages coastal
cleanup projects on public and private lands.
“We’re tree huggers who love the outdoors,” said
Mohan, who enjoys raising orchids and fruit trees
in his free time. “Our garden is living artwork, and
we want to protect the environment.”
This includes choosing ethanol. “So many things
about ethanol make sense,” Mohan said. “It fits my
philosophy of work hard and do good.”
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AMERICAN ETHANOL THE MAGAZINE