For the past two race seasons, Renewable Lubricants has played an important role behind the scenes at Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA), providing products the team relies on both at the racetrack and in the shop.
BHA began working with Renewable Lubricants at the start of the 2025 season. The company is based in Hartville, Ohio, and this year celebrates 35 years of making its lubricants there. Its products are formulated and blended on the same family farm where the business began, and it is led by Founder Bill Garmier and President Jacqueline Garmier. The company describes itself as the largest and oldest North American manufacturer of renewable lubricants, and it has built its reputation around high-performance products designed for reliability in demanding applications, which is exactly what a professional racing team needs.
For BHA Team Owner Bryan Herta, the performance of the products and the support behind them have made Renewable Lubricants a valuable part of the team’s program.
“Renewable Lubricants has continued to demonstrate their products perform as well or better than conventional products out there. And in our sport where every detail counts, we know we can count on them to provide excellent service and support to make sure our Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars are always at their best,” said Herta.
A Different Kind of Oil
What sets Renewable Lubricants apart is what goes into the bottle. Since 1991, the company has run an extensive research and development program focused on vegetable oil-based (biobased) lubricants, working alongside partners including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, the United Soybean Board, the Ohio Soybean Council and Penn State University.
At the heart of its engine oils is the company’s patented Stabilized High Oleic Base Stock (HOBS) technology. These base stocks average a viscosity index of about 220, compared with roughly 100 to 140 for mineral and synthetic base oils, which means less viscosity breakdown under mechanical and thermal stress, along with strong friction-reducing properties and virtually no volatility. For a race engine, that translates to oil that holds up when temperatures and RPM climb.
The company’s racing oils have a long track record. Its Bio-SynXtra racing oils have been used in motorsport since 1993, in applications ranging from a seven-time IHRA world champion alcohol-fueled dragster producing 3,000 horsepower above 9,000 RPM to high-temperature endurance road racing and Formula Drift rotary engines. They are formulated specifically for turbocharged and supercharged competition engines, with the shear stability to let an engine run longer at high RPM with greater protection.
Performance doesn’t come at the expense of the environment, either. Renewable Lubricants’ products are designed to replace conventional petroleum-based lubricants while being safer for both the environment and the people who use them. The company now offers more than 250 biodegradable products shipped across the United States, and a roof-mounted solar array at its facility covers about 65 percent of its energy use.
Put to the Test
Renewable Lubricants products are not simply represented on BHA’s Hyundai Elantra N TCR race cars. They are put to work throughout the team’s racing operation.
BHA uses Renewable Lubricants Engine Oil in the turbocharged engines of its Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars, where consistency and reliability are essential throughout a demanding race season. The relationship also extends back to the BHA shop, where the team uses additional Renewable Lubricants products, including its cleaning sprays.
“We’ve been using Renewable Lubricants Engine Oil all season long, and in an industry where reliability matters, we have seen consistent performance in the engine oil,” said BHA Lead Engineer Megan Ryder. “We hold all of our components to a high standard, and they have more than delivered. Even their cleaning sprays have been used all around the shop and hold up to the jobs in our shop. We love being able to support a business like Renewable Lubricants. Their staff have been a huge help getting us the correct oil for a high performance engine!”
From the engine oil inside BHA’s race cars to the products used every day in the shop, Renewable Lubricants has spent the past two seasons proving its performance in an environment where every component is held to a high standard.
Made in America
For BHA, the partnership is also a chance to support a family-owned American manufacturer. Every product Renewable Lubricants makes is developed and blended at its Ohio plant, built on decades of American research and partnerships with U.S. agriculture and government agencies. It’s a homegrown company delivering the performance and hands-on support required at the highest levels of sports car racing.
