Wisconsin Soybean News

Ethanol Car Driver, Spokesman Will be Missed

PALMYRA, Wisconsin – March 27, 2006 – The ethanol Indy car driver who addressed a 2006 Corn/Soy EXPO audience in Wisconsin Dells this winter suffered fatal injuries in a crash this weekend during an Indy Car Series practice run at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Paul Dana promoted ethanol as driver of the Team Ethanol car sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. Dana first brought Team Ethanol sponsorship to the Indy Racing League in 2003, and won the challenging one-mile oval at Milwaukee in 2004. Last year, Dana competed in only three races with Hemelgarn Racing, due to a back injury sustained while racing. He announced his switch to the Rahal Letterman IndyCar Series team during the 2006 Corn/Soy EXPO and expressed his excitement at his step up to racing alongside teammates Buddy Rice, the 2005 Indy 500 winner, and Danica Patrick, last year’s Rookie of the Year.

“We were very saddened to hear the news about this promising young man, who was a great spokesperson for the corn-ethanol industry,” says Bob Oleson, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association. “Paul Dana spoke with confidence and conviction about the value of ethanol in high performance cars. He was the kind of guy who got you excited about racing and about ethanol’s future. His contribution to our industry will be greatly missed.”

The crash occurred as Dana was preparing for his first race with the Rahal Letterman team, after recording a career-high ninth place in Saturday’s qualifying run. Dana’s car struck another car at high speed when that car hit a wall, slide down the track and came to a stop.

For more information on Wisconsin Corn/Soy EXPO and on Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, visit the web site www.wicorn.org or contact Executive Director Bob Oleson by phone at 262-495-2232 or via E-mail at Wicorn@idcnet.com.