here's some crap:
Racing on Ethanol
The use of ethanol as a racing fuel is growing as more people become aware of its benefits. As a racing fuel, ethanol can be used as a substitute for, or in combination with, gasoline or methanol, which are the main components of many racing fuels. Test results show that, if run properly, ethanol can give racers added horsepower and torque.
Pure ethanol has an octane of 115, which is about the same as methanol. Gasoline has an octane of anywhere between 85 and 95, with low-lead aviation fuel coming in at about 100 octane.
One of the most important factors in setting up a race car to run on ethanol is understanding its oxygen content in relationship to what it is replacing, since that affects the air-to-fuel ratio and the fuel flow.
Gasoline contains no oxygen, ethanol is 35% oxygen and methanol is 50% oxygen. Since there is oxygen in ethanol, if you are replacing gasoline with ethanol you will need to increase your fuel flow. Because, as there is already air in ethanol, you will need to mix less air with your fuel to get the proper air-to-fuel ratio, hence you raise the fuel flow. If you are replacing methanol with ethanol you will need to decrease the fuel flow. How much and how far you increase or decrease the fuel flow depends on how much gasoline or methanol you are replacing with ethanol, those are just basic principals. It's best to do your own testing to determine what works in your engine, or what can be made to work in your engine. Many drivers use ethanol/gasoline or ethanol/methanol blends.
Ethanol, like methanol, will burn cooler than gasoline, and will allow you to increase your compression ratio when using it to replace gasoline. Unlike gasoline and methanol, ethanol is not toxic. Most ethanol contains a denaturant like gasoline so that it is unfit to drink, but it is still much less toxic than either gasoline or methanol. Ethanol is also much less corrosive then methanol, which is important as well. In our opinion, the exhaust smell of burning ethanol is much more preferable to the smell of burning gasoline or methanol as well.
One of the main reasons more methanol and gasoline are used in racing than ethanol is because ethanol hasn't really had a distribution network set up for its use as a racing fuel. That does not mean it is not a better fuel for racing, and it may pay for people to seek it out and experiment with its use.
Our group organizes the Ethanol Race of Champions for 360 Sprint Cars every fall, which is one of the few races in the country where there is actually a requirement that ethanol be used in the fuel.
Ethanol has been used with much success in all types of racing vehicles, including; sprint cars, dragsters, motorcycles and more. In fact, Leo Hess has set a variety of motorcycle land speed records using ethanol-based fuel.
and more propaganda:
http://www.ethanol.org/oldsite/Graphics/trifold/ace_trifold.pdf