Speed records set with biodiesel

Brent Hajek of Oklahoma knows and thing or two about driving fast.

Hajek, who travels around promoting biodiesel, went out and set several land speed records. He worked with Ford Motor Company to test his pickup with certain types of fuel. Using regular number two diesel, he set a record at 169 miles per hour. Once B20 diesel was put into the truck, it went 182 miles per hour.

“Biofuels were getting such a bad reputation so we decided we’d go out and try to showcase the performance of biofuels and it worked out well,” Hajek said.

Hajek has been drag racing for years and went out and set several records with Mustangs running on E85. The cars went over 270 miles per hour.

“The three fastest Mustangs in the world are E85 powered and have soy composite paint and body panels,” adds Hajek.

The Illinois Soybean Association encourages farmers to use high blends like B11 and B20. ISA’s Charlie Poster refers to biodiesel as a home-grown renewable fuel that adds value to one of the biggest crops grown in the country – soybeans.

“In fact, it adds 63 cents to every bushel of soybeans harvested here in the state.”

ISA promotes tank maintenance, recommending farmers sample their fuel tanks and make sure they are buying good fuel. If this is the case, it should work well in your farm equipment.

To find out more about biodiesel, contact the Illinois Soybean Association or ask your fuel distributor to offer biodiesel blends.