Category: friday feature

My Thoughts On The Current NASCAR Cup Charter Situation

By David G. Firestone

Well, the NASCAR charter fiasco has reached its peak. On September 7, NASCAR presented its final charter offer. According to Jayski and Sports Business Journal:

“The term of the charter agreement is for seven years starting in 2025 and commensurate with NASCAR’s new media rights deals that begin next year, meaning teams who signed on did not get the permanency of the system they had been negotiating for in recent years. Teams are getting more revenue as part of the deal, which stems from NASCAR getting a 40% increase in its media rights agreements worth $7.7B. For example, the last-place charter got around $4-5M annually in the old charter agreement from 2016-24, while that will go up to around $8.5M in the new version from 2025-31, people familiar with the matter said.”

NASCAR then gave the teams an ultimatum to sign the new deal. Of the 15 teams, 13 signed the charter. Some were happier than others, but most realized, in the words of Justin Marks:

“It’s been kind of a living document that has changed a lot as these conversations have taken place. But for me, and I can only speak for me, in the back of my mind, if they don’t put a deadline on it — well, the deadline is when we go racing next year — if the day doesn’t come when finally someone goes ‘we’re done here and we’ve taken as long as we need,’ then it will never come and it will never end. So me, personally, as we’ve had these conversations, I was anticipating the day that NASCAR would come and say ‘this is it. We’re done. We’ve addressed all these issues and you know where we won’t move, we’ve agreed on 90 percent or 75 percent of it (so) it’s time to get this thing done and start building our future together.

I think everyone can interpret it in their own way,” Marks said. “For me, regardless of how you want to build a narrative around it. Ultimately, it’s NASCAR’s sport and they said, ‘We are done negotiating here, this is the deal, it’s not going to change.’

“Ultimately, we had to make a decision and I looked at that and I said, ‘I’m not going anywhere so we’re going to sign it.’ You can interpret that anyway you want. Every team and team owner has their own relationship with NASCAR and mine, the philosophy of mine is always coming from a place of partnership and collaboration so I don’t necessarily feel like it was that way.

Rick Hendrick had this to say:

“I think we worked really hard for two years and it got down to, you’re not going to make everybody happy. And I think it got down to, I was just tired,” Hendrick said. “Not everybody was happy. But in any negotiation, you’re not going to get everything you want, and so I felt it was a fair deal and we protected the charters, which was number one, we got the (revenue) increase, I feel a lot of things we didn’t like we got taken out, so I’m happy with where we were.”

The two holdouts who didn’t sign were 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. For some reason, these two teams think they can hold out for better terms. Why? I have no idea. 23XI is owned, in part, by Michael Jordan. Say what you want about Jordan, but you can’t argue he doesn’t know how to negotiate. He also has the star power of Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and co-owner Denny Hamlin. Them holding out could work, since they do have star power.

Front Row is a different story entirely. In the Cup Series, they have a total of four wins in their entire existence since 2005. To put that in perspective, Tyler Reddick has four wins for 23XI Racing in the last two years. Front Row is not a powerhouse team by any definition. What makes this strategy even more perplexing is that Front Row is trying to buy a charter from Stewart-Haas. I can’t see this working out to well for them.

Front Row has no leverage whatsoever. 23XI has some leverage, but with 13 teams signing the agreement, they don’t have as much as they think. The other teams realized that this had to end at some point, and signed the deal. NASCAR strong-armed their teams into signing. While this isn’t a great look, they really didn’t have any other options. It is what it is really.

Realistically, this was the only outcome. Everyone was tired, everyone was at the end of their rope, and the outcome was, well, meh. Sometimes the best outcome is just a stalemate.

If anything changes, I will talk about it next week. If not, I will probably discuss the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing situation. We’ll just wait and see.

Sources Cited:

Is a charter agreement imminent? UPDATES

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/09/08/nascar-charter-23xi-racing-front-row-motorsports?publicationSource=weekendrap&issue=02e4f665af3748efb18a8d38d8c2fe5a

Rick Hendrick, Justin Marks comment on charter agreement

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/09/06/nascar-cup-series-charter-update?publicationSource=sbd

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/09/03/nascar-looking-to-wrap-up-charter-negotiations?publicationSource=sbd&issue=ffc261c61ff24ea88d1cf1f13295b2e4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23XI_Racing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_Row_Motorsports

By David G. Firestone

So for this week, I’m going to discuss the upcoming 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. There are a few changes, which are, according to Wikipedia:

“-The Busch Clash will move to Bowman Gray Stadium in 2025, replacing the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It will be the first NASCAR Cup Series race held at the track since 1971.
-Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez will host a points paying race, becoming the first points paying Cup race outside the US since 1958. Richmond Raceway will lose a date to accommodate this change.
-The races at Gateway Motorsports Park, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, will be added to the playoff schedule. As part of this schedule change, Watkins Glen International, Homestead–Miami Speedway, and the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, will move to the regular season.
-The Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway will be the opening race for the new NASCAR in-season tournament.”

I’ve discussed how much I love the idea of Bowman Gray hosting the Busch Clash and how I think it should lead to historical tracks hosting the Clash. I’d also like to see something like this in both the Xfinity Series and Truck Series. I hope this goes forward.

I like the dea of Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez hosting a points paying race, however I think that Richmond should have been kept on, and a different track, preferably a 1.5 mile track been removed. I hope this may also extend into Canada.

I will discuss my feelings on the Chicago Street Race on a latter date.

With the good out of the way, now let’s about this bullshit “tournament.” Here is how this tournament will “work” as explained by Wikipedia:
-“The NASCAR In-Season Tournament is an upcoming multi-phase tournament that will be conducted among drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. It is scheduled to debut in the 2025 season.

-Format

-The tournament will consist of eight races.

-For the first three races, all full-time drivers in the series are eligible to compete. Race winners will automatically qualify for the bracket, and be joined by the drivers with the best finish in any of the three races, with ties to be broken by total race points. The 32 drivers with the best performances move on to the next phase of the tournament. The seeding races will be streamed on the new package to be shown on Amazon Prime Video.
The last five races will be conducted in a single elimination bracket. In each round, the driver in each match-up with the better finish advances, while the other is eliminated. This process will continue until only two drivers remain; the driver with the better finish in that race will be the tournament champion and win a $1 million bonus. All of these races will be shown on TNT.

-In 2025, the first race of the bracketed portion will be held at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 28.

-The In-Season Tournament will be the second $1 million bonus event in the Cup Series, joining the NASCAR All-Star Race.”

First off, moving to Amazon Prime is going to cost NASCAR a lot. A lot in terms of viewers lost, money lost, sponsorship lost, and fans lost. If you are going to try something this audacious, why not have it on actual TV. This is another example of NASCAR focusing on what they want, as opposed to what they have. This will not go over well with the NASCAR fan base. I have no confidence in Amazon Prime Video for NASCAR.

Second, while I get the bracket format, it works for the playoffs. This random tournament, with nothing on the line except money isn’t really good. Especially the 1v1 format of the last five races. 10 drivers, 1v1 elimination, until two drivers are left. Why not have the same bracket as the playoffs?

Here’s my idea: I like the general idea of how to qualify: For the first three races, all full-time drivers in the series are eligible to compete. However, I would only have the top 20 drivers in points, all arranged by points, both regular and playoffs.

From there, I would do this: 5 races, top 20 drivers in points, all arranged by points, both regular and playoffs. Each race, the bottom 4 drivers get eliminated. 4 races, 16 drivers eliminated. Last race, highest finishing driver wins. There is no reason you need 32 drivers in a single-elimination bracket. If we have to actually do this horseshit, why not make it simple. Make it easy to follow.

Also, shouldn’t there be something more than money as a prize? I’d add some points to the mix. Other than that, there really isn’t much on the line. Realistically, there isn’t any reason this has to happen to begin with, but at least make it worth the effort. Money and points, at least that gives incentive. I just don’t get this at all.

I’ve at least praised IndyCar for moving from NBC to FOX in 2025! That was a smart move! The Peacock-only races are not doing well, and fans are not happy, so this is an improvement. NASCAR is taking a major step back, and IndyCar is taking a major step forward.

To top all of that off, since I have Directv, I can’t watch F1, since it’s on ESPN, and Directv and ABC are in a pissing match. It’s just not a good time to be a racing fan!

With that, I’ll be back next week.

Sources Cited:

https://www.jayski.com/nascar-cup-series/2025-nascar-cup-series-schedule/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_NASCAR_Cup_Series
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR_in-season_tournament

Normal content will resume next week.

By David G. Firestone

Hello one and all, this week, I have three stories out of NASCAR this week. The first features the 2025 Clash. On August 17,the new venue for the 2025 Clash has been revealed, and I love this move! This is from NASCAR.com:

“Today, NASCAR announced The Clash will come to historic Bowman Gray Stadium for the first-time as the opening exhibition event for the 2025 season on Feb. 2. The announcement was made by Ben Kennedy as part of pre-race for tonight’s NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series event at the racetrack. This will mark the first NASCAR Cup Series event at the racetrack in 54 years. The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium will be broadcast live on FOX.

“Bowman Gray Stadium has a storied history in motorsports, so we look forward to bringing the Cup Series back to this revered racetrack for the first time since 1971,” said Kennedy, Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovation Officer, NASCAR. “As NASCAR’s first weekly racetrack, Bowman Gray Stadium holds a special place as the original home to grassroots racing. With a history of intense competition, we are proud to host The Clash at the ‘The Madhouse.”

If this leads to the Clash being held in smaller, historical racing venues that never get any real national coverage, then I’m all in! I love this idea! It’s the idea that SRX was founded on, and the Clash would do these venues wonders! I hope this idea works, and I hope its expanded on. No more football venues, more classic racing venues!

Now we move on to Jack Link’s. I like beef jerky, even though I don’t eat it all that much. I’m more of a meat-stick man myself. Jack Link’s has been a staple in the ever-expanding beef jerky market. On August 22, NASCAR made the following announcement:

“Today marks a moment worth savoring, as America’s No. 1 motorsport and the nation’s No. 1 meat snack brand join forces to help race fans feed their wild side. NASCAR and Jack Link’s together announced that the U.S. meat snacks market leader has become an Official Partner of NASCAR through a multi-year agreement set to begin in 2025.

As the Official Meat Snack of NASCAR, Jack Link’s will activate across multiple areas of the NASCAR ecosystem including at-track, social and digital media, and radio and television. Jack Link’s will also leverage the NASCAR relationship at retail, as the company continues offering consumers a wide amount of real, high-quality protein snack options that span multiple flavors, formats, sizes and sub-brands.”

First off, I had to cut a lot of marketing bullshit out of the quote I used. Second off, I like the idea of an official meat snack sponsor, will this drive away other meat snack sponsors? The Cup Series did away with entitlement sponsor exclusivity, but other series may still have it. NASCAR and its teams are in desperate need of sponsorship, and any move that jeopardizes them isn’t a good move.

This isn’t an idle threat. Sunoco bullied Shell into reducing the size of their logo on Kevin Harvick’s car after a Daytona 500 win. Sprint bullied both Verizon and AT&T out of car sponsorships. Is it really out of the realm of possibility that there may be the threat of Jack Link’s using their power to bully a sponsor, particularly a regional, low power meat snack company out of a car sponsorship? Possibly, there certainly a precedent for it.

This is my issue with “Official partners of X” across the board. Even if a team has a deal with a sponsor, sometimes this leads to issues. With NASCAR, and racing in general, this can, has, and will lead to teams and sponsors getting screwed. The incidents I talked about have been a drop in the bucket. Again, will Jack Link’s bully other meat stick sponsors? I hope not, but time will tell.

Now, for the final story, we go back to the Hooters VS Hendrick Motorsports saga. While Hendrick and Hooters had parted ways due to the struggling chain losing money, closing locations, and not paying Hendrick, the saga took a turn this week. On Thursday, August 22, lawsuits were filed, according to the Charlotte Business Journal:

“An entity affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports is suing Hooters of America LLC for $1.7 million, plus interest, for alleged unpaid sponsorship fees.

HMS Holdings LLC filed its complaint against Hooters on July 30, according to Mecklenburg County court records. The lawsuit was filed just weeks after Hendrick Motorsports dropped Hooters as a sponsor, citing the restaurant chain’s failure to meet its financial commitments. Hooters had sponsored Chase Elliott’s No. 9 car in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2017. Hendrick Motorsports is suing Hooters for breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

The complaint states that Hooters was obligated under the sponsorship deal to pay Hendrick Motorsports four installments annually totaling $1.75 million. The 2024 payments of $437,500 each were due on March 10, June 10, Aug. 10 and Oct. 10, court records state. The NASCAR team operator alleges Hooters made a partial, $45,000 payment in March before failing to make the June payment.”

Basically, Hooters signed a contract with Hendrick, refused to honor the terms of said contract, and is getting sued. Hendrick lived up to their ends of the contract, and Hooters didn’t. Hooters really doesn’t have a leg to stand on here. Hendrick will win, or at least take a nice settlement. Not a bold prediction, but just the truth.

This downfall of Hooters is glorious indeed. Hooters is a concept whose time has passed. Their wings are mediocre, the whole “sexy waitresses flirting with men while serving food” concept has been obsolete for a good long time. Other such companies have gone under, and it’s only a matter of time before Hooters goes under. Other chain restaurants that have better food than Hooters have gone under, so why should I feel bad for Hooters?

If you are the kind of person who actually likes to eat at Hooters, explain to me why? When it comes to wings, Buffalo Wild Wings blows Hooters out of the water. When it comes to their other offerings, Chili’s and TGI Fridays are better. Why would you eat at a place with mediocre food, when there are other places that have superior food? It boggles my mind that in 2024, with all the options we have, that an outdated, mediocre place like Hooters still exists. As I said, it’s only a matter of time until Hooters disappears, and I can’t wait.

With that, this week’s column is over, and I will work on something for next week.

Sources Cited:

Season-opening Clash exhibition heads to Bowman Gray Stadium in 2025

2025 Clash to be held at Bowman Gray Stadium

Jack Link’s partners to become official meat snack of NASCAR

Jack Link’s jumps into wild world of racing with new NASCAR partnership

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2024/08/22/hendrick-motorsports-sues-hooters-lawsuit-nascar.html

Hendrick Motorsports ends sponsorship with Hooters UPDATE

By David G. Firestone

Welcome back. I was only going to talk about my thoughts on the NASCAR 2025 Cup Series TV deal, and I will, but before that, I have to talk about the end of the Richmond race. I had to deal with things during the week, so I didn’t get around to talking about this. As we all know, on the last lap at Richmond, Austin Dillon wrecked both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to collect the win. Hamlin and Logano were upset, and made their feelings known after the race.

This naturally sparked a series of debates on if Dillon’s actions were justified. The responses were all over the place. Some felt that Dillon was justified in doing what he had to do to win the race, much the same way Dale Earnhardt Sr. did on more than a few occasions. Others felt he went too far and could have caused more damage and injuries. Many were calling on NASCAR to take action, and they did.

On Wednesday August 14, NASCAR.com released the following:

“NASCAR officials ruled Wednesday that Austin Dillon’s win at Richmond Raceway would not count toward eligibility for the Cup Series Playoffs. The decision arrives three days after the Richard Childress Racing driver bashed his way to victory by crashing Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap of Sunday’s Cook Out 400.

Dillon’s penalty was the most severe of a handful of those issued after Sunday’s race, which was decided by a chaotic last lap of overtime. After a full review of footage and data, NASCAR officials ruled Dillon’s victory would stand, but that his automatic berth in the 16-driver postseason field would be voided for violating Section 12.3.2.1.b of the NASCAR Rule Book, which deals with playoff eligibility and states: “Race finishes must be unencumbered by violation(s) of the NASCAR Rules or other action(s) detrimental to stock car auto racing or NASCAR as determined in the sole discretion of NASCAR.”

Dillon and the No. 3 team also were docked 25 points in both the drivers’ and owners’ standings, dropping Dillon from 26th to 31st in the former rankings. Officials also indicated that the rescinded playoff eligibility for Sunday’s win applies to both the drivers’ and owners’ championship.

NASCAR competition officials also suspended Brandon Benesch, the No. 3 team’s spotter, for three Cup Series races for his guidance of Dillon atop the grandstand roof. A review of transmissions from the No. 3 team radio revealed Benesch saying “wreck him” as Dillon battled alongside Hamlin with the checkered flag in sight.”

While Joey Logano was justifiably upset, his reaction didn’t do himself any favors. Going back to NASCAR.com:

“Logano was fined $50,000 for his actions after the race, when he spun the tires of his No. 22 Team Penske Ford in anger near the RCR No. 3 team’s pit box. That show of disgust — a violation of the member code of conduct for compromising the safety of others — sent celebrants from Dillon’s team scattering on pit road and drew a stern rebuke from NASCAR officials at the scene.”

RCR appealed the penalty, but said appeal was denied.

While I get the win at all costs mentality, and I get Dillon’s desperation to make the playoffs, NASCAR had no other choice here. Dillon could have caused serious damage and/or injuries to other drivers or even fans. The era of “checkers or wreckers” ended a long time ago, and safety should be the top priority. Any intentional action that compromises safety should be punished harshly.

Also, while I get that Joey Logano was upset, his actions could have been much more damaging, potentially injuring crew members, officials, or members of the press. I get his anger, but he left NASCAR no other choice.

Now we get to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series TV deal. I’m sticking to what I said last year. Here is the meat of the deal that starts in 2025.

FOX Sports and NBC Sports will return. Each will carry 14 events.

The FOX Sports portion of the Cup Series schedule, which kicks off the season with The Busch Light Clash followed by ‘The Great American Race,’ The DAYTONA 500. This will include races on both FOX and FS1.

FOX Sports’ coverage will also include live events for the entire NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season. This is the best thing to happen in this deal…provided they get Jamie Little out of the booth.

NBC Sports’ coverage of the Cup Series will encompass the final 14 events of the season, including the Playoffs and Championship race. These races will air on NBC and USA.

Both partners will feature a mix of broadcast and cable events, with five Cup events airing on FOX and four on NBC annually. The remaining events will air on FS1 and USA Network, respectively.

In addition, two new partners, Prime Video and TNT Sports will evenly split a series of 10 mid-season races. Both have also obtained exclusive rights to practice and qualifying sessions for the entire Cup Series schedule through 2031.

Prime Video will stream practice and qualifying live for the first half of the season through their last race of the mid-season series.

TNT Sports will host the next five mid-season races simultaneously broadcast live on TNT and streaming on the Bleacher Report Sports Add-On on Max. Practice and qualifying for the remainder of the season will stream on Max and air on truTV.

Well, they did exactly what I thought they were going to do, which is precisely what I thought they shouldn’t do. TNT is a sports powerhouse, but many NASCAR fans aren’t exactly fond of their classic “sell as many ads as humanly possible” style of broadcasting. However, as they will be broadcasting on traditional television, it’s defend-able.

With Prime Video, however, NASCAR decided to put the horse be cart. As we saw with the NFL’s Peacock only game, fans were PISSED! Many fans who pay for NFL-created streaming platforms couldn’t watch through those platforms. Well, this is what’s going to happen for NASCAR.

As I’ve said before, NASCAR should focus on what they have, instead of what they want. Well, they’ve shit the bed with this new deal. Fans are irate, and justifiably so. Why? At the time of production, Amazon Prime Video is Prime Video membership is $8.99 per month. With a five race package, that would mean that fans will have to pay a total of $17.98 to watch five races. which amounts to $3.60 per race.

In addition since many TV sets aren’t automatically of the smart variety, and some cable services don’t offer apps with certain packages, this is going to limit how many fans are going to watch. Remember, the streaming-only tactic has been tried with the Honda Indy Toronto in IndyCar, and the viewership numbers were so low that Peacock was too embarrassed to release them. The number was so bad, neither IndyCar or Peacock would release them. Let that sink in…go ahead, I’ll wait…

With that, I do understand why NASCAR isn’t doing a Peacock-only race for that reason. It should also be noted that Peacock might be on the way out sooner rather than later. Early last year, I claimed that Peacock would lose $3 billion in 2023, the losses are actually $2.8 billion. They lost $200 million less than last year. Let that roll around in your head for a bit. How anybody could justifiable losing over $6 billion in three years is perplexing, and how much longer Peacock can last is questionable. There was a short period where sports streaming was at its peak, but that ship has sailed.

Again, NASCAR should have focused on what they have instead of what they wanted. This new deal is going to run off more fans…which, given how they are currently losing fans, is the worst move. Why? Well…

Remember, NASCAR’s core fan base is traditionally lower-income blue collar conservatives. The are much more traditional in views, and, in addition, might not have the money for a five race Prime Video package. Many don’t watch on cable as opposed to broadcast.

Let’s take a look at the cable losses for 2023.

-2023 FS1 LOSS -1.08 rating -1,962 million

-2023 USA LOSS -0.38 rating -0.774 million

-2023 TOT LOSS -0.64 rating -1.389 million

When you take those yearly losses into consideration, why is blocking out 5 races to your whole fan-base a good thing? I at least gave NASCAR credit for their deal with the CW. I also like that the Truck Series is back on FS1, but they need a new lead announcer.

Bottom line here is that this new move isn’t a good move, and this will run off fans. It’s not a good look at all.

I may or may not do a column next week, I may have something to take care of. I will be back soon though.

Links cited:

NASCAR officials drop Austin Dillon from Cup Series Playoffs; Logano fined

NASCAR officials drop Austin Dillon from Cup Series Playoffs; Logano fined

NASCAR officials drop Austin Dillon from Cup Series Playoffs; Logano fined

NASCAR officials drop Austin Dillon from Cup Series Playoffs; Logano fined

https://www.nbcsports.com/nascar/news/nascars-steve-phelps-discusses-future-media-rights-package-schedule-horsepower-status

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/football-fans-irate-exclusive-peacock-game-f-k-you-nfl

https://variety.com/2023/streaming/news/peacock-30-million-subscribers-peak-losses-1235820372/

https://www.cagesideseats.com/aew/2023/12/13/24000092/tony-khan-updates-aew-media-rights-negotiations-wbd-ring-of-honor-cw-streaming

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/the-cw-new-strategy-explained-1235486774/

By David G. Firestone

So I’m back with four news stories that I felt that I needed to discuss. These aren’t in any particular order.

The first is the controversy of Hendrick Motorports and Hooters. Long time NASCAR fans know that Hooters has a long history sponsoring teams, drivers, and races in NASCAR. Hooters has sponsored Alan Kulwicki, Loy Allen Jr., Rick Mast, Brett Bodine, Jason White, Derrike Cope, Nelson Piquet Jr., Greg Biffle, and, most recently, Chase Elliott.

Well, the sponsorship with Chase Elliott came to an end on July 1, 2024. In a statement, Hendrick Motorsports stated:

“Hooters has been a valued partner of Hendrick Motorsports since 2017, contributing to our shared successes both on and off the track. In recent months, however, Hooters has not been able to meet its business obligations to our organization. Due to these unfortunate and unexpected circumstances, and despite extensive efforts on both sides to identify a workable solution, it became necessary for Hendrick Motorsports to end the relationship. It has been a privilege having Hooters as a part of our team and we wish them the best.”

The Jayski article has also noted that: “Hooters has struggled recently and just announced the closure of 44 locations nationwide.”

Let’s be honest, Hooters sucks. Their wings are meh, and there are plenty of other places that make better wings. The whole “hot women serving food” trope has been going out of style for years, and justifiably so. Hooters is another example of a product from a bygone era that is struggling to stay afloat. It’s just not good at all, so this comes as little surprise. Sometimes the end of an era is a good thing, and this one of those times. Goodbye Hooters, you won’t be missed.

Speaking of sponsorships, its come out that NASCAR is looking for a fifth “premier partner” for the Cup Series. Currently, the four premier partners are Xfinity, Geico, Coke, and Busch Light. According to Jayski, these partnerships are $15 million for 2-3 years, and Geico and Xfinity’s deals are soon to expire. NASCAR is working to resign, but is also looking for a fifth partner.

According to Jayski:

“Xfinity Mobile is a key product for Comcast and figures to be an important part of the next deal. Xfinity currently spends more than $10 million in the sport annually, all told, according to sources. The major question is whether Comcast will continue being both a premier partner of NASCAR and title sponsor of the Xfinity Series. Sources say it’s possible Xfinity could do a short-term renewal as title sponsor before shifting its relationship in the coming years to just being a premier partner.

Geico also is said to be in renewal discussions, and industry executives have waffled all year on whether the Berkshire Hathaway-owned insurer will renew. The company has had a multitude of executive and agency changes in recent years, which often equals change in sports marketing deals.”

All of this is understandable, but here is one my questions…Why aren’t Goodyear or Sunoco premier partners? The official tire and gas providers aren’t premier partners…why? How? Wouldn’t those two be perfect fits for the new premeir partners? Second How will this affect the charter negotiations? I honestly thought that the deal would be done by now. Let’s say that there is a fifth partner brought on before the end of 2024. Would the teams leverage for more money? There is already issues with a potential Netflix special being derailed due to charter negotiations. So how would this potential deal affect them? We will have to wait and see.

Now we get to the Grau Gauldng suspension. This was something i’ve had bookmarked for some time, but never got around to. We start on April 2.

According to TobyChristie.com:

“Gray Gaulding, a part-time competitor in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, was arrested by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office at 7:17 AM ET on Tuesday, April 2 on Misd. Crime of Domestic Violence. Gaulding was released at 12:42 PM ET on Tuesday, April 2. The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrest to TobyChristie.com.”

The next day,NASCAR issued this statement:

“NASCAR officials issued an indefinite suspension to part-time driver Gray Gaulding on Wednesday evening.

The Charlotte (N.C.) Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Department listed Gaulding among its arrest records Tuesday. According to department records, the Cornelius Police Department arrested Gaulding on Tuesday morning on misdemeanor domestic violence charges. Gaulding was released from custody later that afternoon.

Gaulding has made 158 career starts across all three NASCAR national series, none of which have come this year.

The final update came on July 25, this one from Queen City News:

“A domestic violence charge has been dropped against a suspended NASCAR driver in Mecklenburg County, court records confirm.

Dwayne ‘Gray’ Gaulding Jr. had been charged with a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence for an incident that allegedly happened back in April.

In court on Thursday the charge was ‘voluntarily dismissed,’ according to documents.”

Well, it’s not like NASCAR lost anything of value. Gray Gaulding isn;t a powerhouse, he’s a back of the pack jack. He’s not in demand, and his career is really over by this point. Why waste any more time on him then?

With that, this week’s column comes to and end, and I will discuss the upcoming WWE and NASCAR broadcasting deals.

Sources cited:

Hendrick Motorsports ends sponsorship with Hooters

https://x.com/KellyCrandall/status/1807796747378315637

NASCAR looking at adding fifth premier partner

Gray Gaulding arrested on crime of domestic violence: UPDATES

https://tobychristie.com/nascar/xfinity-series/gray-gaulding-arrested-on-crime-of-domestic-violence-charge/

NASCAR officials issue indefinite suspension to Gray Gaulding after arrest

https://www.qcnews.com/charlotte/suspended-nascar-driver-in-court-on-domestic-charge/

By David G. Firestone

So with this week’s column, I really struggled with how I was going to go about this. Sure there were some news stories I thought should be discussed, but I’m going to push them back. There really isn’t any other story that needs to be discussed other than the John Force wreck.

Let’s start at the beginning. In 2024, John Force had two wins, The Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, and The NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway. Force looked to be a championship contender…up until The Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.

At that race, during the first round, Force suffered a serious engine explosion and a crash. Though he was alert, clearly talking with paramedics, it wasn’t until he got to the hospital that he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, amongst other injuries. He was in ICU for some time, with reports stating he was having cognitive issues, and has since been released, and is recovering at home.

2012 Funny Car champion, and friend of the site, Jack Beckman has been tapped to replace Force for the rest of the season, though, at the time of writing, no plans beyond 2024 have been announced.

After thinking this over, I’m thinking that this might be the critical incident that causes John Force to retire from Funny Car, at the very least, full time. John Force is 75 years old, and while he’s still great behind the wheel, he’s no spring chicken. Force toyed with retirement during the COVID-19 pandemic, not racing the bulk of the 2020 season, returning in 2021.

This however, may really be the end. John has raced in drag racing since 1971. He was racing before many of the current competitors were born. In terms of wins and championships, he has more than anybody in the professional categories of the NHRA. He really is the greatest of all time. Nobody will ever argue that. Even fans who hate him respect what he did behind the wheel.

Father time however, waits for no man, and respects no racing records. Every career has an expiration date, regardless of who you are or what industry you are in. Force has had one of, if not the longest professional careers in auto racing. His records speak for themselves, and he has been an ambassador for the sport. But, again, all good things must come to an end.

I do feel bad for John Force. I’ve met the man, and had a few conversations with him, and he is the best mouthpiece for the sport. He’s also the last of the old-school tough guys in racing. They just don’t build them like they used to. Force will continue as a team owner, and he may race every now and again, but his full-time career is more than likely over. I will miss him as will many other fans.

With that, I will continue with racing news next week.

By David G. Firestone

So I’m back from my annual summer sabbatical. We will get to racing news next week, as I’m waiting for something to play out. Anyway, I like to do my traditional how I spent my summer break for my first August post, but I will also cover something that took place while I was away.

The bulk of what I did could be summed up in two words: YouTube Research. As happens sometimes, I will look in the basement for something, not find what I was looking for, but find something I either didn’t know I had, or didn’t know I still had. In this case, in 2020, as everything was beginning to open back up, I bought some stuff from an arcade that was going out of business. I put it to the side thinking I would get to it, but I never actually did, so much of my time was spent researching these items.

I worked the first and last week of July, but took the middle two weeks off. I did have to work on the Fourth of July, but working in the grocery industry on the Fourth, especially nights, is the second easiest shift, since nobody is there. In case you are wondering, the easiest is the day after Thanksgiving.

This summer, I did also enjoy a few barbecues. The first was our annual neighborhood rib cook-off, which raises money for Breakthrough T1D, which is formerly known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Here is a small sample of the tasty offerings:

I also had a birthday cookout with my friends and family. My birthday is in January, and it’s not so feasible to do a cookout in Chicago in January.

I watched a lot of racing, and a lot of wrestling. All in all, it was a fun month.

Now, let’s discuss something that happened while I was on vacation, because it ties into something I’ve said on the podcast. I’m not a railfan, but I do, on occasion, film train stuff for YouTube, if I happen to be somewhere where trains are. From what I’ve seen, the railfan community is a very tight-knit community, that respect the railroad industry and focuses on safety. More importantly, unlike a lot of fan communities, they know when to eat their own.

One such example is a young man by the name of Sebastian DeYoung. Sebastian DeYoung is an autistic man from South Dakota who claims to be a railfan. However, his old YouTube channel featured him doing some dangerous and illegal things. I will let this video explain his actions:

Sebastian DeYoung acted recklessly and dangerously. However, given his mental issues, I genuinely don’t think that there was any ill intention there. He is an enthusiastic railfan, who went too far thinking he was helping the community. He really meant well, he just acted out of line.

The same cannot be said for a 17 year old railfan in Nebraska. This is a story from The Lincoln Journal-Star:

“Teen accused of train derailment

Investigators now believe a train derailment on the edge of Bennet in April was caused intentionally by a teenager who then recorded it and posted it online.

BNSF Railway Police have referred the 17-year-old boy to the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office for prosecution for felony criminal mischief, saying the derailment caused an estimated $350,000 in damage.

In a search warrant filed this week, a BNSF police investigator said that shortly after 6 p.m. April 21 a fully loaded eastbound coal train derailed at a railroad crossing at Monroe Street and Nebraska Highway 43.”

Ryan’s Colorado Rail Productions, one of my favorite railroad YouTube channels, gave his thoughts on the situation:

The Winnipeg Railfan did a great video on the subject as well.

I will not be linking the original video, nobody should watch it, this channel should get not get any views or subscribers. This kid is going to jail. BNSF isn’t going to take this lightly. These locomotives cost $3 million, and boxcars are $60,000 each. As Ryan said, he is probably getting tried as an adult, and will be sent to jail, as well as paying for the damage done.

The railfan community has banded together to exile this kid. As well as they should have. Again with Sebastian DeYoung, he acted irresponsibly, but, in his mind, he was trying to show the railfan community how various things worked. He wasn’t actively trying to cause damage. That’s out the window with this kid. He intentionally threw a switch, and that caused a collision and derailment for YouTube clout.

Communities are getting more proactive with exiling troublesome members. Railfans are exiling these troublesome guys. EAS Scenario producers exiled ClayRanger143, after his inappropriate interaction with underage fans. Even creeps in wrestling and racing are now being exiled. This should be a clear message to all fandoms and communities. Get rid of the problems, and you will be a lot better. These fandoms have proven that! Learn when to eat your own.

With that, I’m done with this week’s edition, next week, racing news!

By David G Firestone

For the last week of my vacation, I will use an original script that hasn’t been used yet. This is a tough one, so feel free to click off if it gets to be too much.

So, as I’ve mentioned, I find lost media to be a bit of an interesting subject. I watch a few YouTube channels that discuss lost media. One of them, blame it on George, alerted me to this story. I went to lostmediawiki.com, link in the description, which has a summation of the story. Before we get into it, I have to give a trigger warning: If you are easily grossed out, or have a sensitive stomach, click off, I won’t blame you.

OK, ready? Here we go.

The ill-fated building is located at 3900 Hemphill Street in Fort Worth, Texas. IThe building itself already had a bit of a curse on it. It was previously home to a Danals Food Store. On May 29th, 1994, 29th, a manager at the Danal’s, was held up and forced into the office to open the safe. The young manager, 18 year-old Eduardo Lopez was shot in the head and his body was later found in a storage freezer. Lopez’s murder remains a cold case almost 30 years later.

The Mexia Supermarket came into existence when something called Advance Investment Corp got a $975,000 business loan from Comercia Bank-Texas. It was meant to support the low-income area the store was located in.

Alas, desptie the owner’s best efforts, Mexia Supermarket was not profitable, and Advance Investment Corp faced $1.14 million owed to various creditors. As such, they defaulted on their payments in June of 1999. It should be noted that from everything I’vre gathered in my research, Mexia doesn’t appear to be fraudulently run, just badly run.

Advance Investment Corp filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection was filed on September 28th, 1999. Steven Strange, a Fort Worth attorney represented Advance Investment as Mexia’s ownership transferred to a bankruptcy trustee. Comercia Bank became the building’s lien holder. Two weeks before the bankruptcy proceedings began, the Fort Worth Health Department removed Mexia from its list of active food establishments.

Before we continue, if it sounds like I am omitting key dates and information, I am. However, there are reasons for this, which we will discuss soon.

After Mexia closed, the citizens living around the closed store began complaining of terrible odors, and many were getting sick. Fort Worth tracked the odors to Mexia, and asked Comerica Bank to clean it up. While Comerica tried to find a suitable company, it quickly became apparent that this was worse than anybody could imagine.

You see, when the owners of Mexia closed the store, they literally closed and locked the doors. The store’s stock was still there however, and included meat, fish, produce, refrigerated and frozen foods, dairy, and other perishables. The electricity was cut not long thereafter.

This took place in July, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Once the power was cut, all hell broke loose. The perishables spoiled, flies, and vermin flocked to the store. I’ll spare you the details, since I really don’t want to make you sick. This went unchecked for THREE MONTHS until the end of October, 1999. That, by itself would be bad, but the location of the store didn’t help. Why?

Well, Here are the average temps in Fort Worth during the period between the closing sometime in July, and when the clean up was completed at the end of November, courtesy of weatherunderground.com:

*JUL 90.96 degrees F
*AUG 94.16 degrees F
*SEP 85.78 degrees F
*OCT 80.42 degrees F
*NOV 69.71 degrees F

The average for the time period is 84.21 degrees F

When the time came for the clean up, it quickly became clear this was a true bio-hazard situation. Teams of workers from Garner Environmental Services had to manually remove and decontaminate every millimeter of the 36,000-square-foot building. The windows were boarded up, and workers in hazmat suits took on this task, which lasted from November 16 to the 30th, and cost around $100,000. These workers had to be decontaminated themselves every time they left the building. Even with the extensive clean up, there were reports of foul odor until December 9th.

If you are wondering why the building wasn’t simply burned down, there actually is a reason for that. The possibility was considered, but this would not only allow some of the vermin to flee and infest other homes, but would also spread contaminants around a larger area.

*Fort Worth’s director of environmental management, Brian Boerner stated that:

“I’ve been in this business for 14 years. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of this… You think of what has been in there for 90 days – produce, dairy, meats. It’s kind of hard to comprehend.”

*Even with the obvious contamination of the store, local news reports stated that people did break in to Mexia, and stole canned food, even though the outsides of cans were badly contaminated.

In the end, nobody was ever held accountable. Advance Investment Corp didn’t own Mexia anymore, and Comerica Bank claimed they weren’t the legal owner. Had Fort Worth been unable to find a liable party, a lien would have been filed on Mexia. The building still stands, and now houses a Dollar General, as well as some other buildings.

What does this have to do with found footage, I hear you all ask? Well, the interior of the store, well, in addition to filming of the interior, there were also news reports on the story, but while a little footage has surfaced, most of it is lost forever. What footage we do have was used in an episode of Life After People, and remains the only footage available. Even with searches by internet sleuths, nothing new has turned up.

Now, while this would normally be where I end things, there are deeper mysteries attached to the Mexia Supermarket. Here’s where the rabbit hold deepens. Remember when I said that I was omitting some key dates and information, well, there are valid reasons, since there is a lot we don’t know for sure.

First, who exactly were Advance Investment Corp? Well, the most information we have is that they were “two owners of Laos nationality.” They left the country not long after they closed Mexia, and, aside from a statement issued by their lawyer, have not been heard from again.

Second, when did Mexia open? Well, it, according to the Lost Media Wiki page:

“At some point following October 1997, Mexia came into existence; a data bank listing by the 14th December 1998 issue of Fort Worth Star-Telegram states Mexia’s first taxable data was 5th October, indicating it opened its doors sometime in late-1998.”

Finally, when did Mexia shut down? Well, again, according to the Lost Media Wiki page:

“Sources conflict on when exactly Mexia closed its doors. The 14th November 1999 issues of The Victoria Advocate, Abilene Reporter-News and Odessa American all claimed the store was shut down in July 1999. However, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the building was actually abandoned in late August.” Now, given that it’s generally agreed upon that the store was closed for 90 days before clean up started, I’d say that July 1999 is the correct date.

So we have this seemingly innocuous store. Nobody knows who the owners are, nobody knows when it opened, and nobody knows when it closed, and it created a massive bio-hazard that cost $100,000 in 1999 dollars, which is just under $183,000 today. Yet, amazingly, this story was almost lost to history. This is one of the reasons I find lost media interesting, it produced stories like this.

Next week, normal operations resume.

Links:
https://lostmediawiki.com/Mexia_Supermarket_(partially_found_footage_of_abandoned_Texas_grocery_store;_1999)
https://lifeafterpeople.fandom.com/wiki/Mexia_Supermarket
https://www.wunderground.com/history/monthly/us/tx/fort-worth/KFTW/date/1999-7
https://www.wunderground.com/history/monthly/us/tx/fort-worth/KFTW/date/1999-8
https://www.wunderground.com/history/monthly/us/tx/fort-worth/KFTW/date/1999-9
https://www.wunderground.com/history/monthly/us/tx/fort-worth/KFTW/date/1999-10
https://www.wunderground.com/history/monthly/us/tx/fort-worth/KFTW/date/1999-11

By David G Firestone

Welcome back, this week, a script on McDonald’s is up this week.

I’m a fan of McDonald’s. I especially loves me some Chicken McNuggets. I’ve loved Chicken McNuggets since I was a wee young lad. Up until recently, I would always opt for the BBQ sauce, but I’ve branched out into other sauces.

Well recently, I stumbled across this McNugget training video from 1983.

This was from when Chicken McNuggets were being introduced nationwide. It’s a rather lengthy production featuring puppets, and goes through the entire process of cooking this new delicacy. The video cannot stress enough how Chicken McNuggets can’t stick together.

Chicken McNuggets were released nationally in 1983, even though they were created in 1979. They were conceived by Herb Lotman founder of Keystone Foods in the late 1970s. Keystone Foods was McDonald’s supplier at the time. Keystone Foods was sold to Marfrig, a Brazilian company, in 2010, and was then sold to Tyson Foods in 2018.

While Herb Lotman came up with the concept of Chicken McNuggets, René Arend, McDonald’s executive chef brought the idea to life. Though chicken nuggets had been around before, this was their introduction into the fast food world. René Arend is a native of Luxembourg. Arend was a first-in-the-class graduate of the College Technique de Strasbourg, a former chef at Chicago’s Drake Hotel, and chef at the Whitehall Club, also in Chicago.

While Arend was responsible for Chicken McNuggets and the McRib, many of McDonald’s most well-known creations were developed by franchisees. According to the McDonald’s wiki:

The Filet-O-Fish was created by Cincinnati franchisee Lou Groen.

The Egg McMuffin developed by Herb Peterson of Santa Barbara, California.

The iconic Big Mac, McDonald’s most iconic burger, was developed by Pittsburgh franchisee Jim Delligatti

The reason that McNuggets weren’t available nationwide until 1983 was because the supply chains needed to supply the product simply weren’t available. Chicken McNuggets proved to be a hit, and 45 years later, they are still going on strong.

Now for some random McNugget trivia.

According to McDonald’s themselves, the names of the four shapes of Chicken McNuggets are The Ball, The Bell, The Boot and, The Bow-Tie.

Chicken McNuggets are credited with killing off Onion Nuggets, though the onion nuggets weren’t really selling to begin with.

Finally, Halal version of the McNuggets are sold at two McDonald’s franchises in Dearborn, Michigan. These new versions are very successful making double the average of McNuggets sales.

The most interesting historical aspect of McNuggets are the sauces. It starts with the training video from 1983. The videos states that there are four sauces that come with McNuggets. If you had to guess, what are the four sauces?

First, and most obvious, is Barbecue sauce, now called Tangy Barbecue Sauce.

Second is honey. Now these two sauces are such stalwarts that, 41 years later, they are still available, having never been removed.

The third sauce is Sweet ‘N Sour Sauce, not a bad choice.

The fourth sauce, is the oddest sauce out of the bunch. Keep in mind that chicken nuggets as a whole are geared towards, and marketed to kids. With that in mind, what was the fourth sauce? Hot Mustard. Hot Mustard. I’m guessing that this was geared towards adults, but I can’t prove that.

The list of discontinued McDonald’s dipping sauces gets really interesting. Before we get to the discontinued sauces, I’ll talk about the current line-up first.

Currently, McDonald’s offers the following sauces:

Creamy Ranch Sauce, Honey, Honey Mustard Sauce, Spicy Buffalo Sauce, Sweet ‘N Sour Sauce, and Tangy Barbecue Sauce.

Now we get to the discontinued sauces. I’m going to group them in segments.

First, the Asian Themed Sauces

The Hot Mustard Sauce was discontinued in 2015, though it can still be found in some locations, provided you know where to look. Next we have the Szechuan Teriyaki Sauce, released as part of a Mulan tie-in from 1998, though reintroduced thanks to Rick and Morty. McDonald’s also released a Teriyaki Sauce that was discontinued in 1986.

Next, the Barbecue Sauce variants. There were only two variants outside of the standard Barbecue sauce. First was a Chipotle Barbecue Sauce, that didn’t last past 2014. Second was the Mesquite Barbecue Sauce that briefly appeared but didn’t last past 1988.

Third, are the Spicy Sauces. Super spicy sauces, and peppers are a more recent thing. McDonald’s tried a Cajun Sauce in 2021, a Mighty Hot Sauce in 2020,a Habanero Ranch Sauce, and a Sriracha Mac Sauce in 2017.

Fourth are the sauces that can be placed in the other category.

*Mambo Sauce from 2023,
*Sweet & Spicy Jam Sauce also from 2023,
*Signature Sauce from 2022,
*Tartar Sauce Sauce from 2013, though these were meant for use with the ill-fated Fish McBites.
*Zesty Italian Sauce from 1989,
*and Green Chili Salsa from 1988.

Finally we get into the two holiday sauces. These are two of the strangest fast-food sauces I have ever heard of. These were only around for Christmas. Sauce number one is Apple and Cinnamon Sauce, which only existed in 1998. Second, and even more bizarre is Cranberry-Orange Sauce from 1987. Neither of these sauces sound appetising. Every other sauce I have either tried or would try, but these two sauces just straight up sound gross.

So that’s a bit of a history of my favorite fast food meals of all time.

Next week, a piece on a random piece of lost media.

Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_NpmOo7XtM
https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/full-menu.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-menu-changes-over-years-history-2019-4
https://www.mashed.com/1295097/discontinued-mcdonalds-dipping-sauces/
https://www.eatthis.com/discontinued-fast-food-sauces/
https://www.delish.com/restaurants/a52505/retired-mcdonalds-dipping-sauces/
https://soyummy.com/entertaining/discontinued-mcdonalds-menu-items/
https://mcdonalds.fandom.com/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Arend
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_McNuggets