Oil company Pennzoil has been named the official lubricant and motor oil partner of race body INDYCAR and its NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The company’s motor oil has already been used in Chevrolet vehicle engines for competitions since 2012.
Pennzoil, which is owned by oil major Royal Dutch Shell, developed the first full synthetic passenger car engine oil made from natural gas. This, it claims, means that the base oil is 99.5% free of impurities that can contribute to clogging engines, and it offers a protection guarantee for 500,000 miles or 15 years, whichever comes sooner. This is equivalent to completing the Indianapolis 500 race 1,000 times.
Racing provides some ideal opportunities to test lubricant products under extreme conditions, and much of the knowledge can be applied to less-demanding situations. Indeed, the data about on-track performance is fed back to engineers in the laboratory, who are developing lubricants for passenger cars and potentially for Shell’s UK products.
Shell Lubricants’ Vice President, Selda Gunsel, said in a statement that the considerable stress placed on an:
“NTT INDYCAR SERIES engine provides the optimal test bed for modern motor oils like Pennzoil Synthetics. The highly efficient and powerful engine technology used in INDYCAR has presented Pennzoil with an opportunity to innovate and prove that our made-from-natural gas motor oils can make a difference on the track.”
Jay Frye, the President of INDYCAR, said that Pennzoil’s brand recognition and strong roots in INDYCAR racing made it an ideal partner for bringing the sport to even more people.
