As we come off the high of the Super Bowl, we revv right back into one of America’s favorite sports: NASCAR. But what do metal cars at record breaking speeds have with slow grazing cattle and stationary plants? Let’s find out!
First, Agriculture literally fuels each NASCAR team. NASCAR runs on ethanol made by none other than Indiana Corn. Indiana has 13 completed ethanol plants. These plants take over 430 million bushels of corn and produce over 1 billion gallons of ethanol each year! NASCAR will race over 7 million miles fueled by American corn.
And, of course, the food! Chicken wings are among the top foods to make the list for NASCAR parties, along with chips, hamburgers and bacon. Like every sport, you’ll find plenty of beer in the stands and from viewers at home. One acre of barley gives you the malt for roughly one barrel of beer. In other words, one ounce of barley goes into one bottle of beer.
How about laundry detergent for those uniforms the racers sweat in all day? That comes from a cow! Each weekend of racing one car goes through 52 tires, each of which comes from a cow! Any sheet rock for the NASCAR buildings or homes we watch from? You guessed it: it comes from cattle! Even paint, glue, bandages, adhesives, mouthwash, and toothpaste are all thanks to a cow!
NASCAR is more aware than most in how much agriculture makes the sport possible. Perhaps one of the coolest ways NASCAR thanks the farmers who help so much is the “Ag to Asphalt” program. For each race in 2024 the program plans to highlight a local farm to give back to and support our American agriculture. If more industries would be willing to do this, perhaps our industry would be a little more loved and understood instead of so highly taxed and regulated.
So there you have it – from fields to fast lanes, agriculture and NASCAR make an unexpected yet thrilling pair. As we rev up the engines, it's clear that this sport and our way of life is completely dependent on agriculture.
