Going green typically has a totally different meaning when mentioned in connection with NASCAR. However, for the NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series, No. 50 MAKE Motorsports Chevy Silverado, going green means more than just green flag racing.

One of the team’s latest sponsors—Liberty Tire Recycling—is one of the country’s largest tire recycling services and NASCAR’s first sponsorship in the “green” category. Liberty repurposes 1.5 billion pounds of rubber annually, converting it into eco-friendly products like crumb rubber and industrial feedstock for molded products, rubberized asphalt, tire-derived fuel for industrial kilns, mills and power plants, rubber mulch for landscaping and playground safety surfaces.

Some may consider NASCAR the sport of excess, but the organization is making an effort to counter all the carbon emissions generated by three national touring series over a 36-plus-week schedule. NASCAR is planting trees, recycling trash generated at the racetracks and exploring alternative fuels.

As for Liberty, the sponsorship is a good way to reach new markets with their “message of sustainability and performance,” according to CEO Jeffrey Kendall. Team co-owner Tracy Lowe reinforced the concept of sustainability, adding: “I can’t wait to see what the true impact will be in the sport.” More...

It’s funny how time changes the meaning of some words and phrases. For example, “made in Japan” used to be just another way to say cheap and tinny, but now it means high-tech and cutting edge. Now Valvoline is redefining the word “recycled,” which used to mean “used” but now, as exemplified by its new NextGen motor oil, means “new oil.” And, because of reduced impact on the environment, it can even be considered “better than new.”

Valvoline NextGen takes advantage of the fact that all motor oils start as base oils that don’t really wear out. In fact, used oil starts off better than crude for making new base oil. Compared to crude, used oil has fewer oil impurities and more high-quality lubricant molecules. Over 75 percent of used oil contains high-quality molecules that can be made into new base oil, versus only 15 percent high-quality oil molecules found in crude oil.

In motor oil, what do wear out are the additives that are blended into the base oil to make it suitable for use in engines. When additives wear they, they’re flushed out with the oil.

But the oil molecules in base oil remain high quality, and can be refined into new base oil. Oil recycling isn’t a new thing—recycled oil has been around for a long time—but the way Valvoline does it is new, and that’s what’s redefining what recycled oil delivers. More...