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The smell of Ethanol and the sound of the Honda Indy V8 are definitely things that I missed in the off season.  The Ethanol comes from Apex-Brazil and is now manufactured using sugercane instead of corn.  The new exhaust systems that are installed on the cars this year definitely dial down the sound.  For once I did not feel the need to wear ear plugs during the testing sessions.  The new exhaust consists of a 180 degree bend and then feeds into a non tunable muffler.  It exits the car at the top rear section of the sidepod instead of out the rear under the suspension and gear box.  When I heard about the exhaust change a few months ago I  remember thinking to myself, it’s a race car.  Why would you want to quiet it down?  It is not rediculously quiet but it definitely doesn’t sound as raspy as the cars did during the 2008 season.  As a matter of fact The Firestone Indy Lights made some engine modifications as well.  They now sound more like the big cars in the IndyCar Series instead of stock cars.  This automatically drew me towards them when I heard them at Homestead Miami Speedway.  I don’t know about anybody else but I honestly could not stand the sound that they emitted last season.  Hopefully this will play into the Firestone Indy Lights getting more attention by viewers along with Versus network televising the series.  you will be able to hear the sound of both series at the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg April 5th.