Vegetable Oil Powered Truck Shatters World Record, Reaches over 200 mph at Speed Week

by Jenny M Kniss (Greenspeed Research) To showcase the viability of renewable energy, non-profit group Greenspeed Research (GsR), reached 209 mph with a truck powered by vegetable oil at the Bonneville Salt Flats this August. Their new world record reached a speed just under the 215 mph petroleum fuel record for their racing class - a record they are set to break in 2017.

(credit: Blue Planet Photography) The GsR Chevy S10 during a run on the course at Speed Week

Not everyone thinks of high-speed racing when they reach for a bottle of vegetable oil at their local grocery. But that is exactly what a group of students turned entrepreneurs from Garden City, Idaho think of when they reach for a bottle of their race truck’s fuel.

Gallons of safflower oil are poured into their modified Chevy S10 as the driver suits up for a run down the course during Speed Week. Speed Week takes place once a year at the famous Bonneville Speedway outside of Wendover, Utah. Racers gather from around the world to test their automotive creations and technology by way of speed. Top speeds of over 400 mph can be seen on groomed courses of blinding white salt. It is the same Bonneville Speedway that gave us the character Burt Munro in the movie The World’s Fastest Indian.

Now, there are new characters on the scene who are literal game-changers for the world of speed and renewable energy. GsR, a non-profit organization based in Garden City, Idaho, took an earlier world record for speed using vegetable oil in 2011 at 155 mph. Led by Patrick Johnston and Dave Schenker, GsR’s 2011 record resulted in a change to Salt Flats land-speed racing rules to include vegetable oil as an official race fuel. Another first for the history of land speed racing.

In a historical moment this August, they shattered their previous record at over 200 mph using vegetable oil purchased at a local grocery store. At a speed of 209 mph, they came within a mere 6 mph of the current petroleum diesel record for their class. Setting them up for an even bigger record breaking year in 2017.

So, why vegetable oil? As CEO of GsR Dave Schenker puts it, “We are using the plant based equivalent of raw, crude petroleum from the ground. If we can beat the diesel record on that, imagine what everyday drivers could do with refined vegetable oil (biodiesel) as a fuel. We want truly sustainable oil, harvested from organic matter like algae, which has a much higher yield than corn in the same amount of space.”

GsR CTO, Patrick Johnston, who wired the team’s racing pit with a large solar panel to run their computers, phones, drills and other power tools (instead of a gas generator) remarked, “Motorsports are a great avenue to show off renewable energy. There is no sugar coating, only undisputable results. In racing, both vehicle and technology are pushed to the limit, it shows the real-world potential for renewable energy to sustainably power our future.” READ MORE and MORE (Advanced Biofuels USA)