Elgin Sweeper Named Official Sweeper of NASCAR Green

April 26, 2016
NASCAR program pays homage to Elgin Sweeper and other NASCAR Greens sponsors

Earth Day 2016 has a special meaning for Elgin Sweeper, a manufacturer of street sweepers for general street maintenance, special industrial and airport applications. As the Official Sweeper of NASCAR Green, Elgin Sweeper, was recognized by NASCAR as part of the organization’s fourth annual NASCAR Race to Green program.

Now in its fourth year, the week-long program celebrates the racing industry’s efforts to protect the environment and highlights the sustainability efforts of NASCAR partners, sponsors and stakeholders who work closely with NASCAR all year to help protect the environment. Throughout the week, NASCAR distributed a series of videos, articles and social media posts recognizing select partners and sponsors. A two-minute video and a feature article on Elgin Sweeper and the revolutionary Elgin Crosswind Specialty Track Sweeper were posted Thursday, April 21, on the NASCAR Green website.

“Elgin Sweeper is proud to be part of this exciting, week-long celebration highlighting the sustainability efforts of NASCAR’s partners,” said Mike Higgins, vice president and general manager of Elgin Sweeper. “As a long-term partner of NASCAR Green, Elgin Sweeper shares NASCAR’s passion for, and commitment to, protecting the environment through sustainable practices.”

As the Official Sweeper of NASCAR Green, Elgin Sweeper is present at each NASCAR race event weekend to support NASCAR's Air Titan equipment to dry rain-soaked racetracks, saving jet fuel and reduce NASCAR’s overall carbon footprint. In addition to supporting the Air Titan equipment with the Elgin Crosswind Specialty Track Sweeper, Elgin Sweeper helps clean and dry the tracks during caution periods when necessary.

“The Elgin Track Sweeper saves roughly one gallon of diesel fuel per hour, which relates to about 22.4 lb of carbon dioxide,” said James Crockett, sweeper products manager at Elgin Sweeper. “Our proprietary shared technology system diverts the formerly wasted energy from the chassis engine back to power the sweeper itself. This technology offsets about 16 metric tons of carbon dioxide being put into the environment over the course of a full NASCAR season, which is the equivalent of planting 372 new tree seedlings.”

Based on Elgin Sweeper’s Crosswind GRS unit used to vacuum liquid glycol from airport runways, the Track Sweeper includes unique features developed for racetrack sweeping, track drying and conditioning, and mitigating dust left behind from absorbent products used to clean fuel spills on the track. These features include a side air-blast nozzle, a reverse sweep system, a 20,000 CFM-rated blower, a hydraulically driven side broom with plastic bristles and a soft-wall attachment to vacuum out behind the weepers (cracks on a racetrack where water seeps through) and the soft wall before and after each race.

In addition to sweeping the NASCAR tracks, the Elgin Track Sweeper also removes standing water, rubber and debris in and around the pit area, which contributes to the overall safety of the racers, their crews and spectators. The sweeper’s powerful side air blast is ideally suited for locations such as grass on the inside field, pit areas and weepers.

Crockett added the Elgin Track Sweeper provides another environmental benefit on race day. “By speeding up the time it takes to clean and dry the track, the Track Sweeper helps the race event get back on schedule and to completion at a quicker rate,” he said. “By doing so, the overall operations energy usage around the track – electricity used in the suites, media centers and lighting systems – is also significantly reduced.”

Source: Elgin Sweeper

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