Monday, December 15, 2008

Assistance for displaced NASCAR workers

News and notes from a NASCAR Monday:

The motorsports employment task force being set up by the North Carolina Motorsports Association has set up a program for displaced NASCAR team workers who are having credit and mortgage problems.

The workers can get help through United Family Services’ office in Cornelius. UFS is a non-profit dedicated to assisting families in need.

Unemployed race team workers can contact UFS at 9624 Bailey Road, Suite 290, Cornelius, N.C. 28031, or call (704) 655-8745.

* * *

Kyle Busch is the winner of the fourth quarter Pocono Spirit Award from the National Motorsports Press Association for his donation of $100,000 to Sam Ard and his family after Busch’s win in the Nationwide Series race at Texas this fall.

Ard, a two-time series champion, suffers from both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, creating large medical bills.

“Sam Ard is one of the pioneers of this (series), and to be tied with at 10 wins is something that’s pretty spectacular and really, really special to me,’’ Busch said after the win. “I’m going to try to help him out and see what I can do. It’s not much, but it’s something that can try to help.’’

Juan Pablo Montoya, the late T. Taylor Warren and Richard Childress won the awards in the first three quarters of 2008. The year’s overall winner will be announced at the NMPA convention in January.

* * *

Carl Edwards didn’t win the Race of Champions event Sunday in London, but the runner-up in this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide series did make it to the semifinals and scored a big win along the way.

Edwards defeated retired Formula One champion Michael Schumacher of Germany in the quarterfinal round before losing to David Coulthard in the semis. Coulthard then lost in the best-of-three final to Sebastian Loeb on the course inside London’s famed Wembley Stadium.

Schumacher helped lead Germany to the title in the team portion of the event.

While in England, Edwards also received an award sponsored by Tag Heuer. It was set up this year to determine, by statistics, the best racing driver in the world. A team of eight jurors analyzed the weekly performances of more than 150 drivers in F1, NASCAR and the World Rally Championship before selecting Edwards.

* * *

Red Horse Racing has made it official. Johnny Benson will drive a No. 1 Toyota for that team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2009, joining David Starr’s No. 11 Toyota as a teammate. Benson won the 2008 Truck Series title will Bill Davis Racing.

* * *

Here are your Martinsville hot dog fabulous fun facts for the day.

The track reports that it sold 93,000 of its famous hot dogs during the two Sprint Cup races this year. OK, that’s a lot of hot dogs, but track public relations man Mike Smith took it a step further.

Using 6 inches as the measurement for each dog Smith – who admits he had help from somebody who can add and multiply – says that comes out to nine miles of Jesse Jones wieners, or 18 laps of the Martinsville track.

And no I, personally, did not account for an entire lap by myself.

11 comments:

Monkeesfan said...

Congrats to Kyle Busch for a well-earned Pocono Spirit award.

Anonymous said...

Poole are you Drunk??? To damn much info at 1 time

Anonymous said...

Try to keep up, Spanky.

Anonymous said...

I personally would love to know the average salary for these team members who are being laid off. i would be willing to bet most make well above the average salary for your typical factory worker who has faced layoffs this year.

If these folks are three weeks out from being laid off and are already in dire straits, then the saying about the nascar fat cats must certainly be true.

these people obviously have no idea of 'saving it for a rainy day.'

the real truth is these people were overpaid, and lived beyond their means. why doesnt this group set up assistance for all laid off workers in the charlotte area.

this racing community continues to operate in a 'holier than thou' mode. this is nearly as big an outrage as the brianne davis scholarship. this lady was involved in an accident that was of no one fault but her own. had her injuries not proved to be life threatening, how many charges would she have faced? and we celebrate this with a scholarship. stewart and the others should be ashamed of that lame fundraiser, and no one would have cared if she wasnt a hot piece of tail.

Anonymous said...

Jon in NC, you prove once again that it's impossible to underestimate some people. I'm not sure what planet you live on, but around here, lots of folks live from paycheck to paycheck. If your income were to disappear tomorrow, I'm guessing you'd be cash-strapped in short order, as well.

As far as Brienne Davis is concerned, she was a lovely person (inside and out) who made a silly mistake one night, and paid for it with her life. She accomplished more in her too-short life than most people do, and those of us lucky enough to have called her her a friend are proud to remember her by doing something positive in her name.

Anonymous said...

the guy who filed the lawsuit against roush was making a grand a week plus bonuses. if that level of income is in dire sttaits three weeks out, the party is either living beyond there means or just plain stupid. i do not know if that gentleman is in need of help but id bet he is on the low end of the payscale of nascar crew members.

and dont call me out and sign anonymous.

im jon
in nc
lake norman to be exact

Anonymous said...

When I got laid off I filed for unemployment like everyone else. I don't think any other "assistance" is coming my way. Maybe I'll have to find something else to do?

Anonymous said...

A few made really good money, most did okay, but that's about it.

Some of those so called big teams didn't get that way by paying huge salaries. Many people who are trying to build a career are willing to take less to work for a name brand and enhance their credibility.

I'm sure if you'd compare their salaries to someone at Walmart or McDonalds, they'd come out way on top, but that doesn't make someone rich.

Anonymous said...

I guesss ms grant will not need these services.

Anonymous said...

my buddy died of a drug overdose. Can we start a scholarship fund for him. Brienne davis scholarship fund is stupid. The people who actually give to it are even more stupid.

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