NASCAR official says ethanol use possible by '11

ORLANDO, FL

A NASCAR official said that the series could use a corn-based ethanol blend by 2011.

Steve Phelps, NASCAR's chief marketing officer, made the comment during a panel discussion at the North America Motor Sports Business Forum this week.

"I'm not definitively going to say that for 2011 we're going to have ethanol," Phelps said after the panel meeting. "It's something that we're looking at now."

After the session, Phelps detailed what has been done in regard to ethanol.

"Our guys are testing it at this particular point and trying to determine whether that's right for our series," he said. "They're on the engines now. What does it do to different parts? How does the engine run? Does it run cooler, does it run hotter - those types of things. We would certainly not institute a rule change or a fuel change that would affect the racing at all."

Such a timetable could work well. There are indications that NASCAR could switch from carburetors to fuel injection in 2011, and that could be a good time to make the switch.

Also, NASCAR Chairman Brian France has stressed the sport's need for green initiatives.

LOOKING FOR WORK

Michael Waltrip said he might run only the four restrictor-plate races in Sprint Cup next season unless more sponsorship is found.

As for any other races he might run?

"I'd like to run some Nationwide races," he said. "I'd like to run some Truck races, so I'm still just seeing what's out there. I'll do anything. I just want to race every now and then."

OFFSEASON TESTING

Goodyear has four offseason tire tests scheduled.

Kasey Kahne, Brad Keslowski, Joey Logano and Jeff Burton are scheduled to test Tuesday and Wednesday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

Martin Truex Jr., Mark Martin, Sam Hornish Jr. and Carl Edwards are scheduled to test Jan. 12-13 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Brian Vickers and Kurt Busch are scheduled to test Jan. 19-20 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Biffle also is set to test with Roush Fenway Racing on Wednesday and Thursday at Phoenix. That test is for Goodyear's 17-inch tire, the bigger, wider tire Goodyear is developing for possible future use.

NO DECISION YET

NASCAR officials are talking about eligibility requirements for the Budweiser Shootout, scheduled for Feb. 6 at Daytona International Speedway.

It looks like it will be the top six cars for each manufacturer in the owner points made in last year's race, with one additional spot for each manufacturer going to either a past series champion or to the seventh-place car for the manufacturer in the car owner standings.

Dodge has only three teams - with Richard Petty Motorsports moving to Ford for next year - and thus can't fill its allotment.

STILL LOOKING

Lesa France Kennedy, chief executive officer of International Speedway Corp., said that despite the failure of plans to build a track in Staten Island, the idea of a track in New York remains appealing for the future.

"We're always going to have an interest in that area," she said, noting it's the nation's

No. 1 media market.

Also, ISC plans to petition NASCAR to give Kansas Speedway a second race beginning in 2011. The move coincides with plans to add a casino next to the track.

PIT STOPS

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s new race engineer comes from teammate Mark Martin's team. It's part of a plan to get those teams, which share a shop at Hendrick Motorsports, to work more closely together in how they prepare their cars.... Matthew Becherer replaces Curtis Gray as president of Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gray is leaving for other opportunities. Becherer had been at Richmond International Raceway since 2003.