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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