Making it look good

Dressed in a black helmet decorated with dreadlocks made out of electric cord, Jeff Disinger pushed his purple flame-painted electric motorcycle to 88.9 miles an hour, winning second place in the competition.

The 45-year-old tattoo artist from New York used to drag race gasoline-powered motorcycles, but hopes his switch to electric will help him stand out on the racing circuit and win sponsors.

"I've dragged raced a lot of normally aspirated engines and just thought this would be a different avenue. Nobody else had been doing it and I'm trying to be the first to make it look good," he said.

Most electric vehicle owners drive them for their low fuel costs. Joseph Lado (47) is a program specialist at the National Science Foundation from Virginia. His bright yellow 1985 Pontiac Fiero was converted to an electric system 16 years ago.

The car now costs $12 a month to charge. But Lado said the real advantage is the quiet ride.

"The car is completely silent. I could hear the wind blowing and the birds chirping in the trees," he said. "You know you're not using any energy at that point and you shouldn't be."

But there are drawbacks. On the open road, electric car drivers can't just pull over to a gas station for an electricity refill.

Driving distance is limited to a few hundred miles. And racers here had to use a diesel generator to charge their cars for the track.

And specialised lithium ion batteries to power a car engine can cost up to $30 000.

"The battery technology is a challenge right now," said Chip Gribben, president of the national association.

"As soon as we can get more production of batteries, the price will go lower and then more people will be able to afford them."