By now, you should all know about the 2008 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup. It was a race series developed by Volkswagen of America to showcase its clean-diesel technology as well as the driving talents of 30 up-and-coming young drivers.
The season consisted of eight races at seven different tracks across the United States, with one race being held at Mosport in Canada. Throughout the series, the drivers covered a total of 301 miles (over 150 laps) and the Jetta TDI racecars managed to complete all eight races only using two tanks of fuel per vehicle over the entire season!

Driver development was a main component of the Jetta TDI Cup and was evident in the talent that was seen on the track. None of the 30 drivers had professional experience and putting them into identical cars led to almost inevitable carnage.
Virtually every race saw a different driver take the win, with no clear championship leader emerging. Ultimately Josh Hurley won the championship with a five-point lead over the second place winner, Liam Kenney.         
Josh Hurley from Cooper City, FL claimed the $100,000 purse money and, as a special bonus, got to drive in the ADAC VW Polo Cup at Hockenheim in Germany.
With this being the first clean-diesel race series ever held in North America, Speed TV filmed the entire series, which is being aired now. The cameras were present from the very beginning, watching the driver selection process in April, as well as every race, catching what happened both on and off the track.
There are a total of seven, 30-minute episodes following the individual races. Each race is packed with action and incident as the novice drivers slip, slide and spear into one another. However, it’s the final 60-minute documentary, Racing Under Green, that is the must-see episode. It encapsulates the series, highlighting individual drivers as they progress in their fledgling racing careers.
It looks at racing from a personal perspective and provides engrossing footage for race fans and prospective drivers alike.
With only a few more opportunities to view the race series and the documentary on Speed TV, we encourage you to set your DVR to record this absorbing coverage of a very significant event in North American motorsport history.