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Somewhere between the two oil changes per month and the 7mpg you average while hot lapping, it hits you—this might not be the most eco friendly of sports. For years I’ve told myself that I make up for it in other ways. I recycle my phone book (the day it’s delivered), I only shower on even numbered days of the week, and I decided not to replace the burned out lightbulb in the hallway. Boy, it’s higher than it looks. The cold hard truth is that I know this isn’t enough and that I should be doing more to offset my time on the track.

Since it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to kick the habit anytime soon, I’m relieved when I see motorsport organizations taking steps to reduce the sport’s environmental impact. Infineon Raceway recently announced it’s installation of 1,652 solar panels which will produce over 40% of the facilities power demands. Thunderhill Raceway should also be recognized, they’ve had a trio of electricity generating windmills installed for several years now. It would be fantastic to see alternative energy generation become a precedent at other tracks around the world. 

Progress is of course, also at hand on the vehicle development front. It’s old news that Elon Musk was one of the first to make a bold entry into the market of producing all-electric family sedans—by building sports cars. But with the impending introduction of the Model S, it’s interesting now to see his master plan finally coming to fruition. The challenge with all-electic vehicles has long been two critical, sales-crippling factors: very limited range and performance. But instead of hiding these limitations behind fancy small print, Tesla took the challenge head on and set out to specifically conquer these widely known weak points. It would be difficult to argue the result was anything but a success having produced the Roadster, a sports car that accelerates to 60mph as fast as a 911 Turbo and goes over 200 miles on a single charge, plenty for a few days worth of commuting. If the company is able to solve these monumental challenges in a performance car, the most demanding of product lines, then imagine the brand equity they’ll have when the family friendly grocery getter starts shipping. We’ve seen this kind of brilliant product halo in action before, and it works.

I’ve now seen several Roadsters at the track, which is encouraging. But those like myself who will miss the rumble of a small block V8 powered by dinosaur blood should’t panic, it seems we still have some time before the electrics take over. Early this year I witnessed a Tesla Roadster sitting next to a gasoline generator in the paddock recharging after running a handful of laps. If there was a Razzie for efficient use of energy, this would be an impressive entry. In that oil-to-gasoline-to-electricity-to-electric-battery cycle, I’d be surprised if 20% of the original energy was making it back into the Roadster’s cells. But, it’s a start.