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ORLANDO, Fla. — A NASCAR official says the sport could use a corn-based ethanol blend as racing fuel 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. “It’s something that we’re looking at now.”
After the session, Phelps detailed what has been done in regards 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.”

There are indications NASCAR might switch from carburetors to fuel injection in 2011, and altering the fuel at the same time would make sense. Also, NASCAR Chairman Brian France has stressed the sport’s need for green initiatives.

LOOKING FOR WORK: Michael Waltrip says he might only run 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.”

Martin Truex Jr. is replacing Waltrip next season.

OFFSEASON TESTING: Goodyear has four offseason tire tests scheduled.

Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, 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, Kurt Busch and Thomasville’s Brian Vickers are scheduled to test Jan. 19-20 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Biffle also will test with Roush Fenway Racing on Dec. 16-17 at Phoenix. That test is for Goodyear’s 17-inch tire, the bigger, wider tire Goodyear is developing for possible use.

This will be the second test for that tire, which still has a lot of development work ahead before it could be seen in competition.

NO DECISION YET: NASCAR officials are discussing eligibility requirements for the Budweiser Shootout, scheduled for Feb. 6 at Daytona International Speedway.

The top six cars for each manufacturer in the owner points made last year’s race with one additional spot for each manufacturer going to either a past series champion or 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 can’t fill its allotment.

STILL LOOKING: Lesa France Kennedy, chief executive officer of International Speedway Corp., says that although plans failed to build a track on Staten Island, the idea of a track in New York remains appealing.

“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. As for what ISC track will lose a date to Kansas, Kennedy was not ready to say.

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 together more closely in how they prepare their cars. ... Matthew Becherer replaces Curtis Gray as president of Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gray is leaving to pursue other opportunities. Becherer had been at Richmond International Raceway since 2003. Most recently he was the track’s vice president of marketing.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com