Celebrated on the third Saturday in March every year, International Sports auto racing Day corresponds with the 12 Hours of Sebring race in Sebring, Florida. This endurance race brings drivers and spectators from everywhere in the U.S. to listen to the roar of the engines and watch the cars jockey for first place. While the precise origins of the official holiday are unknown, the aim is evident – to celebrate and revel in the good sport of racing that takes place year-round everywhere around the globe.
Environmental Hazards
In the middle of a NASCAR race, the timing and length of each pit stop can have a profound impact on the result of the race. Unfortunately, every driver has to stop for fuel and a fresh set of tires multiple times, counting on the length of the race. These high horsepower, low fuel economy cars produce plenty of greenhouse gases with each lap of the track. In addition, to pollution, racing also produces ground pollution within the style of many waste tires at each event. auto racing features a high carbon footprint.
Fortunately, NASCAR way back recognized the impact that racing was having on the environment, both in car emissions and in discarded tires. 600 tires weighing about 20 pounds each are spent by the top of every race, and there are roughly 40 races during a season. These statistics show that almost 500,000 pounds of auto tire waste are produced in one racing season. NASCAR quickly recognized that these numbers were an issue worth solving.
Mitigation Strategies
In response to growing concerns about car racing’s environmental impact, NASCAR introduced several initiatives geared toward countering and reducing their carbon and rubber waste production. Collectively referred to as NASCAR Green, these strategies specifically target pollution and recycling.
Car Emissions
Sports cars and race cars have powerful engines that burn fuel at a far higher rate than your average daily driver, especially when driving at racetrack speeds. While fuel efficiency has improved over the past several decades, there are no thanks to bypassing the laws of physics. Simply stated, you want to put energy in to induce energy out. In this case, to create the auto race fast, you want to put in a lot of fuel. The byproduct of all of this burning is dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
To counteract the vast amount of carbon being pumped into the air by these cars, NASCAR plants many trees every year. they’re also trying to be a part of the answer by contributing to research into alternative fuels.
Racetrack Waste
In 2013, Liberty Tire Recycling announced it might be partnering with NASCAR Green to recycle the many thousands of pounds of waste rubber produced by racing tires every year. The premiere waste tire works within the U.S., Liberty is found in North Carolina and recycles over 140 million tires annually.
After a race just like the 12 Hours of Sebring, all the spent tires are collected and loaded on trucks bound for Liberty’s recycling facility. The resulting rubber shreds are shipped to a spread of facilities for further processing. Each processing plant is outfitted with specialized recycling equipment to provide different end products. employing a unique barcode system, Liberty is ready to trace every tire from the racetrack to its end destination. the full process turns many thousands of pounds of rubber waste into useable consumer and construction products.
