First tanker of Indy fuel leaves MPC refinery (Update)

IndyCar Fuel Tanker

UPDATE A reader writes, Dear AR1.com, It is unclear, absent, what type of fuel IndyCar will be using for 2019. Is it Ethanol? A blend? Straight HiTest 110 Gas or…..? Inquiring minds want to know. Nate from Tampa, Florida

Dear Nate, With the switch from Sunoco to Speedway as the fuel supplier, there has been no announcements that IndyCar was switching from the fuel blend they have used for a number of years now – E85R fuel (blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent racing gasoline). If they were going to change it could have a big knock-on effect with the engine manufacturers and would likely have been announced. Mark C. reporting for AR1.com

01/19/19 On January 14th 2019, the first truck of Indy fuel was loaded out of MPC’s Catlettsburg refinery. “We are excited to be a part of this project," said Sheila Fraley, Catlettsburg refinery community relations representative. “There were several people who worked on this project and we look forward to watching IndyCar races in 2019. The employees of the Catlettsburg refinery are proud, knowing they are the only refinery fueling the race cars participating."

Speedway LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corp. Effective this year, Speedway became the Official Fuel and Official Convenience Store of INDYCAR, the IndyCar Series, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500.

As the Official Fuel for INDYCAR, Speedway will provide the fuel powering every car at every race in the IndyCar Series. The series’ 2019 schedule features 17 races, beginning with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Florida) on March 10 and concluding with the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Monterey (California) on Sept. 22. The schedule is anchored by the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 26.