NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon is working with the EPA to educate the public about the impacts of auto painting on public health and air quality.

No one knows the ins and outs of auto body work (and the associated fumes and noxious gases it produces) like professional race car drivers -- except for the people who have to paint the cars every week.

What's the first name that comes to mind when you think of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency? Current EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson? Embattled Bush-era EPA chief Stephen Johnson? How about the first EPA administrator William Ruckelshaus who was actually called back to serve another term under Ronald Reagan to help boost morale in the sidelined agency? If you are like most people, however, no one's name immediately jumps to mind when you think of the EPA. Well, except for NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, right?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has enlisted the help of NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon to help bring attention the issue of air pollution from vehicle painting.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a training DVD to help auto body shops comply with a rule reducing air pollution from vehicle painting. This type of pollution, called toxic air emissions, can cause smog, cancer or other serious health effects.

The Campaign will also serve as an opportunity for shops to work towards early compliance with the EPA's Auto Body Rule.

In December 2007, EPA issued a rule requiring reductions in air toxic emissions from auto body shops that use spray application to paint cars or that use paint strippers containing a toxic substance called methylene chloride. Existing shops must comply with the rule by January 2011; new shops have to comply by 180 days after startup.

The DVD, hosted by NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, includes steps body shops can take to comply with the rule, while improving worker protection and saving the shops money. EPA produced the DVD in both English and Spanish as a supplement to the EPA paint rule training workshops being held for shop owners and employees in many parts of the country.

Don't expect to see the EPA logo emblazoned on the hood of Gordon's #24 car any time soon, that is, unless DuPont decides to share that high-rent space. Heck, it might not even be a bad idea for DuPont to pony up and buy EPA an ad spot on Gordon's car, it could do wonders for the chemical company's public image. It might even make Gordon more memorable an EPA figure than William Ruckelshaus!