Liz Clarke from the Washington Post, author of One Helluva Ride which ought to be on the top of every NASCAR fan's agenda for gift-giving should anyone on their Christmas say anything along the lines of "I don't get this NASCAR thing" between now and December twenty-fifth has penned an excellent article detailing the challenges NASCAR faces in any attempts to go green.

While placing the terms 'NASCAR' and 'environmental awareness' in the same vicinity tends to immediately arouse the ire of those viewing such statements as an attempt to PC stock car racing, nothing could be further from the truth.  NASCAR is already investigating moving to some form of alternative fuel.  This duly noted, its rate of progress in this area is currently being lapped by seismic creep on the average inactive fault line.  Read the story for more info.

Referring back to the cries of political correctness whenever the subject is broached, an Irish protest song from the late eighteenth century comes to mind... well, a slightly modified version anyway:

O NASCAR dear, an' did ye hear the news that's goin' round?
The ethanol by law forbid to run on Sprint Cup ground;
This corn-bred fuel we shall not keep, its colour can't be seen,
For there's a cruel bias agin the burnin' o' the Green.

O I met with France and Helton, and they took me by the hand
And they said 'How great our NASCAR is, and how proud she stands!'
She's the most beloved race league this world has yet to see
Don't you bother men and women there with burnin' o' the green

And if Sunoco fuel we must use puts us in the red,
It serves but to remind us of all the gear that we have shed,
So take the old 8 from your hat and cast it in the sod,
But never fear, our plan is clear, though under foot 'tis trod

It's not PC to take a stand for letting nature grow,
And here's a way to make all say let ethanol now flow,
It's good enough for Junior's car, its color plainly seen,
We wear it, we can use it -- let's have burnin' o' the green!

Or something like that.