Roush Fenway Racing Becomes First Carbon Neutral NASCAR Team

You may notice a difference in Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Newman’s livery at the February 21 NASCAR Daytona Road Course race as the white paint scheme with grey Castrol badge and muted partner colors has been designed to celebrate his team’s latest achievement.

This achievement comes both and off-track because it has just received its carbon neutral certification for 2020 as verified by ERM CVS, an independent third party. Roush has become the first NASCAR team to earn the certification.

“Our hope with this program is to demonstrate that every business, small or large, and regardless of industry, can contribute to address global climate challenges,” said Roush Fenway President Steve Newmark. “We hope to set an example and highlight that small steps by many can make a real difference.”

The team partnered with its sponsor Castrol to help it manage its greenhouse gas emissions. It did so by tracking, quantifying, and reducing emissions, as well as buying high-quality carbon offsets.

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The team set out to recycle 90% of every car, including oil, rubber, aluminum, and carbon fiber, according to the Associated Press. It also did little stuff like switching to LED lights and using a computer-controlled HVAC system to reduce its energy consumption at the factory.

“It’s an honor to pave the way in the sport and bring awareness to the importance of reducing your carbon footprint,” said Roush Fenway Driver Ryan Newman. “Every business can make choices to help promote a more sustainable future and this program makes me proud to be part of a team that takes the initiative to drive change.”

Newman already drives the electric Mach-E off the track even though he calls himself a V8 guy. The driver notes, though, that once a week he picks up 15 gallons of trash from the road in front of his farm.

“It’s sad that people can be that nasty,” Newman told the AP. “It’s a challenge and the whole message here is that you don’t have to do that. You can be efficient. You just have to be smarter.”