the Bobby Steele

Mashed-up corn is heated to produce vapor, which condenses into grain alcohol.Sound familiar, NASCAR old-timers? It’s the recipe for moonshine, the largely forgotten foundation of a sport that has moved from backwoods to big time.

But moonshine is going mainstream, too. You know it as ethanol a gasoline alternative that isn’t much different from the hooch (shh!) Junior Johnson used to hide in his trunk.

And given the current political climate, it might be smart for NASCAR to fire up the still.

The Indy Racing League is leading the way on alternative fuels, beginning a two-year transition to ethanol.

Sen. Hillary Clinton Proposes Plan to Cut Foreign Oil by 50 Percent and Boost Ethanol-Based Fuel

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will call for cutting U.S. dependence on foreign oil by 8 million barrels a day by the year 2025 a goal she says can be met with more ethanol-based fuel and a $50 billion fund for new energy research.

Clinton, D-N.Y., who is up for re-election this year and is also a potential 2008 presidential candidate, is to outline her energy goals in a speech Tuesday morning.

When it comes to auto insurance rates, who you are determines what you pay.Automobile insurance premiums are based on a large number of factors, some of which you can control, and some of which, alas, are incontrovertible facts of life. Statistically, a sixteen-year old boy with a 300 horsepower sports car in a big city is far more likely to hit something than a 35 year-old married guy driving a minivan around the suburbs.

While you can’t change your age and some other factors, there are things that you can do to keep insurance premiums as low as possible.

It may seem like Auto Insurance rates, like gas prices, seem destined to climb higher each year. You might be surprised to know, however, that of the 47 states surveyed by Insurance.com for the Insurance.com 2005 Auto Insurance Pricing Report, 21 states actually saw their auto insurance rates fall and the national average actually fell slightly. According to the report, the average U.S. household is paying $2,302 for auto insurance each year, which is a 2% decrease or nearly $60 savings from 2004. This information was collected from nearly nine million auto insurance quotes provided by Insurance.com to its consumers in 2004 and 2005. New York, Louisiana and Rhode Island came out as the most expensive states for auto insurance, although New York reported a $111 decrease in the average premium quoted from 2004. Maine, Iowa and Vermont led the charge for least expensive states for auto insurance, though all three states experienced increases in 2005.

Most people complain about the cost of their auto insurance–hardly surprising, given that a typical policy costs at least several hundred dollars a year. Depending on your age, driving record, and other factors, your annual premium can be significantly more than that. So how can you lower your premium and save yourself money?

If you own a car and drive it, going without insurance is generally not an option. In most states, you are required by law to purchase a minimum amount of liability coverage. And you should probably have more than just the bare minimum if you want to provide yourself with adequate protection. There are steps you can take, however, to reduce your auto insurance costs without having to cancel your policy. Some or all of these steps may be appropriate for you, depending on your circumstances.