Sorghum heats up the track at Texas Motor Speedway

Sorghum Checkoff cap on the Start/Finish line at Texas Motor Speedway.

ETHANOL FACT: The ethanol industry supports nearly 400,000 jobs and contributes almost $45 billion to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

Austin Wayne Self headed for his qualifying run. Even the pit crew was sporting sorghum. 

ETHANOL FACT: The sorghum ethanol industry supports nearly 10,000 jobs and contributes more than $900 million to U.S. GDP.

Spectators watch the No. 22 race on the jumbotron.

ETHANOL FACT: Ethanol producers purchase approximately $20 billion worth of grain from family farmers in the U.S., including more than $300 million worth of sorghum.

"Sorghum: The Smart Choice" was not only on the No. 22 truck but also on the shirts and caps of the pit crew. 

ETHANOL FACT: In grain purchases alone, sorghum ethanol plants contribute $15,000 to each family farmer’s bottom line.

Prior to the race, producer Craig Meeker, Wellington, Kansas, left, visits with Corpus Christi grower Jim Massey, on the top deck of the truck hauler.

ETHANOL FACT: Increased demand for E15 creates additional markets for sorghum, which can drive up the demand and bottom line for sorghum producers.

Austin Wayne Self, right, visits with his Crew Chief Aurthur Haire prior to the qualifying round. 

ETHANOL FACT: Net U.S. imports of crude oil and petroleum products are at their lowest levels since the early 1980s, owing to the strength of the ethanol industry.

TNB Sports owner Tom Rice, center, shows sorghum producers Charles Ray Huddleston, Celina, Texas, left, and Jim Massey, Corpus Christi, a truck spring stored in the truck hauler, also known as the team's mobile toolbox. 

ETHANOL FACT: Ethanol ranks as the most cost-effective source of octane available. This advantage has not only saved refiners money, but it has saved consumers as much as $1.09 per gallon in recent years as well.

Prior to the race, Austin Wayne Self visits with sorghum producers and Sorghum Checkoff personnel. Left to right: Melissa Meeker and her husband Craig, Florentino Lopez, John Duff, Jim Massey and Charles Ray Huddleston.

ETHANOL FACT: Ethanol reduces the environmental impact of transportation fuels by more than 50 percent, which is the equivalent of removing 11.4 million cars from the road.

The No. 22 is also sponsored by GO TEXAN and Don't mess with Texas.

ETHANOL FACT: Smog-inducing aromatic compounds make up 25 percent of today’s gasoline, but ethanol contains 0 percent of those compounds.

Sorghum Checkoff Executive Director Florentino Lopez and Renewables Program Director John Duff watch the qualifying round from pit road.

SORGHUM FACT: Sorghum grows on approximately six million acres in the U.S.

American and Marine flags fly proudly above the Niece Motorsports haulers. Al Niece, the team owner, is a proud U.S. Marine veteran, who served with the "Ripley's Raiders" during the Vietnam War.

SORGHUM FACT: Texas and Kansas account for 80 percent of U.S. sorghum production.

The Marines of "Ripley's Raiders" reunite at Texas Motor Speedway to watch Niece Motorsports' trucks race. Motorsports owner Al Niece, is also a part of this prestigious group of veterans. 

Left to right: "Tiger Dave," Dave Schwirian, Arnold Doc Santos and his wife Anna; John Solbach and his wife Patricia, Wendy and Chuck Goggins and Lou Niece, Al's wife.

SORGHUM FACT: Around 20,000 family farmers grow sorghum.

Jennifer Blackburn, Sorghum Checkoff External Affairs director, with Jennifer Anderson, director of Partnership Engagement for AM Racing, on pit road.

SORGHUM FACT: Sorghum is grown almost exclusively in rotation with crops like cotton, soybeans and wheat.

Since 2011, E15 ethanol has been the official fuel of NASCAR. Ethanol is cleaner, more affordable and more efficient
than conventional gasoline, and every day it helps the nation move farther from reliance on foreign oil and closer to a crop-based fuel solution, according to Sorghum Checkoff.

SORGHUM FACT: Sorghum is a drought-tolerant crop that uses one-third less water than other crops, making it particularly well-suited to the arid environment of Texas.

Austin Wayne Self, right, with AM Racing owner and dad, Tim Self. Austin's love for racing began at the age of five when he and his father first started racing go-karts together.

SORGHUM FACT: Typically, 20 to 30 percent of the U.S. sorghum crop is used to produce ethanol.

Prior to the race, Olton, Texas, producer Preston Huguley, signs his name to the Start/Finish line. 

SORGHUM FACT: Twelve ethanol plants regularly use sorghum, including three of the four Texas facilities.

Austin Wayne Self jumps in his truck to get in line for the beginning of the race. "Racing is all I know and being a proud Texan comes with that."

SORGHUM FACT: Sorghum is the world’s fifth-most important grain crop and is grown on approximately 100 million acres worldwide, including approximately six million acres in the U.S.

Austin Wayne Self poses with producers prior to the race. From left to right: Jim Massey, Corpus Christi, Texas, left, Craig Meeker, Wellington, Kansas, and Preston Huguley, Olton, Texas.

SORGHUM FACT: Sorghum is a close cousin to corn and sugarcane, and both the crop’s visual appearance and grain Characteristics are very similar to those of corn.

Prior to the race, Tim Self, gathers the pit crew together to pray. "We all believe that it's not about us, it's about others and we believe the most important purpose that we have is to touch the lives and impact the lives of others," says Self.

E15 ETHANOL FACT: The ethanol industry’s long-running partnership with NASCAR continues as one of the most successful partnerships in the history of U.S. agriculture.

"We use ethanol in NASCAR so it’s a big part of what I do every week. To be able to represent sorghum is almost in a way representing what I do, on and off the race track. Ethanol is something I can use at my job and at home," says Austin Wayne Self, posing with his No. 22 truck prior to the race.

E15 ETHANOL FACT: E15 (15% ethanol, 85% gasoline) works as a higher-octane fuel available in 29 states at more than 1,200 retail fueling stations.

Kansas sorghum producers Craig and Melissa Meeker, watch the race from up top the pit box, alongside the driver's parents Joann and Tim Self. 

E15 ETHANOL FACT: NASCAR drivers have traveled 15
million miles on E15 with no incident, showcasing the fuel’s ability to safely and successfully deliver horsepower week after week.