Racin' Stuff:

                                                                                 By Tom Avenengo

 

 

First things, first:

On December 7, 1941, I was a shade over four years old, so I really don’t remember what happened on that date.  I do recall, however, other things that occurred during WWII – like having black window shades, and having them pulled down whenever the sirens went off at night.  I can recall the gas rationing coupons, too, along with reading about the dropping of the atomic bombs and the end of the war.  That day – December 7, 1941, was known as “The day of Infamy”.  Somehow, it’s been forgotten.  Think not?  What was in your local paper this past Monday in reference to that date – compared to what was in your local paper on 9/11/2009?  How about TV?  Heck, one of the NY TV stations had more to say about the anniversary of John Lennon’s death that what was said about Pearl Harbor.  Go figure.

 

 

Some of my thoughts:

I received a PR from DIRTcar the other day, and in it, was this notice:

“Citing specific concerns raised among traveling teams, the Super DIRTcar Series event recently scheduled at Airborne Speedway on Tue., June 15, 2010 has been cancelled.”

In case you are not aware – Airborne Speedway is a PAVED track – not dirt.

Here is what was said on the DTD:

“Whoa wait a minute here. The teams spoke up and dirt listened? What a novel idea. Now why doesnt this work with the sportsman class and the new fuel and shock rules? Why doesnt dirt listen to the teams and drop the rules??? $$$$????”

Note:  Well, one of the reasons it won’t work with the sportsman class (specific shocks and fuel are required) is more than likely the fact that DIRTcar is getting a nice “cut” from those shock and fuel folks.  That is the one main reason it won’t work.

 

 

Danica news:

I’ll not say anything on this Danica going NASCAR stuff except that in my opinion, she’ll be a bust, and won’t make it.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/10490316/Report:-Danica-will-race-Nationwide,-ARCA

 

and:  http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131239

 

and:  http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=jh-patrick120709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

And, from Jayski:

More Danica details: It doesn't get better than this for the Nationwide Series. A league that has become Cup Lite, a glorified practice session for Cup drivers, now becomes Patrick's testing ground for the events she enters. It's all part of a master plan. She will make her stock car debut in the ARCA race at Daytona on Feb. 6, the day before she appears in two GoDaddy.com commercials during the Super Bowl. GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons is investing millions here, including the two-year deal to sponsor the #5 Cup car of Mark Martin. The plan is obvious. Martin drives two more years, then hands over the 5 car to Patrick in 2012. "Just thinking about that makes my eyes twinkle," Parsons said Tuesday. "But we'll see how it goes and look at it when we get to that point." If Patrick flops in Nationwide, that point never may arrive. If she is competitive, NASCAR will have a cash cow for years to come. If not, NASCAR got a giant jolt of electricity from Patrick's presence, however brief.(ESPN.com)
AND: Danica Patrick is going Nationwide Series racing next year, and there really is only one main reason people go Nationwide Series racing - to get ready to go Sprint Cup racing. But for both the Izod IndyCar Series driver and for JR Motorsports, the team she will drive for, that's talk for down the road, and the first step is to be successful over the next two seasons with Patrick running a partial Nationwide Series schedule along with a full IndyCar schedule. Her number of Nationwide races was not announced Tuesday when Patrick's plans were formally announced, but it likely will be a dozen or fewer each year because of the IndyCar schedule, which has 17 races in 2010. Whether 20-30 races over two years would be enough to get her ready for a Cup schedule is questionable as Patrick - a 27-year-old with one career victory and a fifth-place finish in the IndyCar Series last year - embarks on her NASCAR career. JR Motorsports, which opened in 2005, has not competed on the Cup level but has flirted with the possibility for the last few years. If Patrick does well, the sponsorship could come for the organization to make the jump with her.(SceneDaily)(12-8-2009).

 

 

New name for an old class:

Weedsport, NY – It's a NEW NAME for the new year, as DIRTcar NorthEast announces that the Street Stocks division will adopt it's parent name, DIRTcar Stock Cars, in 2010 as the series looks to remain uniform under the sanctioning body.

“All DIRTcar licensed drivers compete nationally with other full-fendered racers across the country for DIRTcar national points under the “DIRTcar Stock Car” identification, said Cory Reed, DIRTcar NE Track GM, “We plan a renewed focus on full-fendered racing in Central New York, so the name change at this time makes sense.”

 

Note:  Talk about trying to confuse the race fans?  DIRTcar Stock Cars?  Geez, when I say I’m going to the stock car races at Accord or OCFS, what am I talking about?  Of course about the only kind of  “stock car” at most tracks around here would be the pure stocks.

 

 

NASCAR – is NASCAR the problem?

http://www.thatsracin.com/140/story/23137.html

 

 

 

Going back, in time:

Going back to December 10th in:

 

1950

Johnnie Parsons won the AAA sanctioned Darlington 200 on the 1.25 Mile Paved Oval Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Bill Schindler was second followed by Henry Banks, Cecil Green and Duke Dinsmore.

 

1967

Paul Jones won the CRA Sprint Car race over Bobby Hogle, Billy Wilkerson, Bud Gilbert and Steve Kennick at the Ascot Park Speedway, Gardena,CA.

 

1983

Gene Gennetten won the Midget race over Dick Pole, Mel Kenyon, Bud Doty and Mike Wartenburg at the Saint Paul Civic Center, St Paul,MN.

 

1988

Kevin Olson won the USAC Midget race over Ron Glidden, Mel Kenyon, Russ Gamester and Jerry Russell at the Rosemont Horizon, Chicago,IL.

 

Since this part of the year isn’t to conductive for auto racing, I’ll be adding a few different days, from years ago, which would be close to the date of my column.

 

On December 9th, in:

 

1926

Ed Elisian ... Born ... Ed was an American racing driver, mainly competing in the National Championship. He died in a crash at the Milwaukee Mile. n the 1955 Indianapolis 500, he stopped his car in a futile attempt to help Bill Vukovich when Vukovich's car crashed and burned during the race. He is the only driver in Indy 500 history to stop a non-damaged car to help another driver. He received a sportsmanship award for his efforts, as well as the wrath of the car owner. In the 1958 Indianapolis 500, Dick Rathmann and Elisian started the race on the front row, with Jimmy Reece on the outside of the front row. Elisian spun in turn 3 of the first lap, and collected Rathmann, sending them both into the wall, and starting a 15-car pileup. According to AJ Foyt, Pat O'Connor's car hit Reece's car, sailed fifty feet in the air, landed upside down, and burst into flames. Although medical officials said that O'Connor was probably killed instantly from a fractured skull, he was incinerated in the accident, in full view of fans and drivers. Widely blamed for the accident, Elisian was suspended by USAC for the accident (reinstated a few days later), and was shunned by the racing community. Rumors spread that Elisian tried to lead the first lap in order to pay gambling debts owed to a syndicate. In June, 1958, Elisian was involved in a multi-car sprint car crash at New Bremen Speedway in Saint Marys, Ohio, which claimed the life of Jim Davis. While absolved of blame in the incident, Elisian's unpopularity with drivers deepened. In August 1959, Elisian entered the USAC Indy car 200 mile race at the "Milwaukee Mile," known in those days as Wisconsin State Fair Park. Driving a metallic green Watson-style roadster owned by Ernie Ruiz, he crashed on lap 29 when he spun in oil from AJ Foyt's engine. The car hit the wall, rupturing the fuel cell, and rolled over. Some sixty gallons of fuel caught fire, and took over 9 minutes to extinguish. Allegedly, the other drivers failed to slow down in order to prevent fire fighters' effort to extinguish the flames, but the red flag was not displayed until the fire was well underway. Elisian burned to death in the flames.

 

1934

Wayne Weiler ... Born ... Weiler started as a dirt track driver in Arizona in 1951. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series from 1958 to 1961 with 19 starts. He finished in the top ten 10 times, with his best finish in 3rd position, in 1960 at Phoenix. Weiler competed in the Indianapolis 500 race in 1960 and 1961, with a best finish of 15th in 1961. Weiler retired from USAC driving following a severe accident in a sprint car race in Terre Haute, Indiana on June 11, 1961. He remained active as an owner and manager in auto racing up until his death.

 

1942

Sheldon Kinser... Born ... He was the 1977, 81, 82 United States Auto Club (USAC) National Sprint Car Champion. Winner of the prestigious Tony Hulman Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track, 1981. Six time starter of the Indianapolis 500, 1975-79, 81. Best finish, 6th, 1981. Sheldon had never driven a rear engine car or raced on pavement until he quailified 26th and finished 12th in the 1975 Indianapolis 500. Quite an accomplishment for a rookie driver. Son-in-law of the late Bobby Grim, 1959 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Nephew of former sprint car driver Bobby Kinser and cousin of World of Outlaw drivers Steve, Kelly, Randy and Mark Kinser. He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1992.

 

1951

Bill Schindler won the AAA Sprint Car race at the Plant Field, Tampa, FL.

 

1978

P.J. Chesson... Born ... An American race car driver who most recently competed in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series.

 

1979

Larry McCoy... Died ... Larry was born in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, McCoy died by suicide in 1979. He made his Midget debut in 1966 with ARDC. Larry toured USAC with the Midgets and Sprints. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1972-1976 seasons with 24 starts, including the 1975 and 1976 Indianapolis 500. His best finish was 12th place at Pocono Raceway in 1974.

 

1990

Jeff Gordon, in the Bickford # 4, won the CRA Sprint Car race over Brad Noffsinger, Rip Williams, Jerry Meyer and Ron Shuman at the Mesa Marin Raceway,Bakersfield, CA.

 

1992

Colby Scroggin ... Died ... AAA/USAC driver 1954 to 1963

 

2006

Dave Steele won the Sprint Car race over Tony Elliott, Troy DeCaire, Jason Blonde and Mike Ling at the DeSoto Super Speedway ,Bradenton, FL

 

And, on December 11th in:

 

1949

Bill Holland won the AAA Eastern Sprint Car race at the Plant Field,Tampa, FL.

 

1954

Frank Domino won the Midget race at the Manzanita Speedway, Phoenix, AZ.

 

1966

Dick Fries won the CRA Sprint Car race over Billy Wilkerson, Don Thomas, Norm Wiles and Bruce Walkup at the Speedway 605, Irwindale, CA.

 

1987

Sammy Swindell won the MARA Midget race at the Tulsa Expo Raceway ,Tulsa, OK. Steve Knepper was second followed by Lealand McSpadden, Scott Hatton, Mike Wente and Rich Vogler.

 

1999

Kevin Besecker won the NAMARS Midget race at the Seagate Centre,Toledo, OH. David Gough was second followed by Mel Kenyon, Matt Westfall, John Heydenreich and Jerry Nemire.

 

 

 

Coming up:

 

Indoor Go-Kart racing returns to Syracuse on December 12th.  We always had a blast when we went up there to race.  From what I remember, the place is heated and ventilated.  A healthy amount of “Coke” syrup is put down on the track to help with traction, and man, does it help!  Up until two years ago, they had races in December and again in March, or thereabouts, but last year it was just the December date.  Looking at the new info, it looks like they’ll have that March date back again.  Info on the Syracuse indoor racing can be seen if you go here:  http://www.cnyroadrace.com/indoor/

 

Note:  Some time back, we were all loaded up, ready to go, and we saw the weather forecast for the weekend.  We elected to stay home.  Needless to say, I think they never even had one snowflake fall in the Syracuse area that weekend.

Anyhow, here is what is forecast, as of 10:00 PM on Wednesday night, per Yahoo! weather, for Syracuse this coming weekend:

 

Tonight: Periods of rain and snow showers this evening, becoming snow overnight. Becoming windy. Low 29F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tomorrow: Occasional snow showers. Quite windy. High around 30F. Winds WSW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of snow 80%. 1 to 2 inches of snow expected. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tomorrow night: Windy. Snow in the evening will give way to snow showers overnight. Low 19F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulating 2 to 4 inches.

Friday: Occasional snow showers. Quite windy. High 26F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 60%.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy and windy with snow showers. Highs in the mid 20s and lows in the low 20s.

Sunday: Snow showers at times. Highs in the upper 20s and lows in the upper teens.

 

 

 

 

Racing on TV - http://www.racefantv.com/USTV.htm

 

To the best of my knowledge, the next “live” race on TV might be a PPV of the Chili Bowl.  I do not know if SPEED will be telecasting any of the ARCA test at Daytona on Dec 18 – 20, but might, especially with Danica Patrick being there.

 

 

 

Other forums/message boards and websites:

 

Note:  Unless I see something really interesting, I’ll just be posting links to the various places for a while.

 

Track Forum: - http://www.trackforum.com/forums/

 

 

Jayski: - http://www.jayski.com/

 

Lotsa stuff can be found here:

 

http://jayski.com/cupnews.htm#news55wed

 

 

NASCAR-Mayfield case to continue: A U.S. District Court judge has turned down NASCAR's request to halt the pre-trial discovery phase in a lawsuit brought against the sanctioning body by suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield. NASCAR had asked for the suspension of the investigative phase of the case until a judge can rule on a NASCAR motion for a judgment based on pleadings already submitted. The decision, issued Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen, means that depositions and production of documents will not be delayed because of the NASCAR request. The judge still needs to rule on the motion for judgment itself. In another ruling issued Monday, the judge set the date for a deposition of NASCAR Chairman Brian France for Jan. 19. The judge also ruled as moot requests by NASCAR and France's ex-wife Megan France, that they not be forced to produce documents under seal in litigation between her and Brian because Mayfield's attorneys indicated they would not seek those documents. He did grant a motion stipulating that in Megan France's deposition, she cannot be asked about the documents in that lawsuit or about the divorce agreement (SceneDaily). See past news on the lawsuitre and suspension on the #41 Team News and Links page and Drug Policy page.(12-8-2009)

 

Note:  And this “Soap Opera” continues.

 

Some Layoffs: been hearing of more layoffs recently from some Sprint Cup teams including 18 to 25 people at Red Bull Racing [#82-Speed & #83-Vickers]; also heard that Yates Racing laid off some from the #98 team of Paul Menard, in preparation of downsizing from siz teams [#9, #19, #43, #44, #96, #98] to four teams [#9, #19, #43, #98] with the meger of Yates Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports and Hall of Fame Racing splitting from Yates Racing. Also hearing that the #71 TRG Motorsports team has laid off many employees, including General Manager and Crew Chief. See my Racing Schools / Jobs page for some job sites and networking ideas/links.(12-4-2009)

 

Note:  I imagine over the course of the winter, there might be more layoffs.

 

 

Petty-Yates Merger supposedly a done deal: Richard Petty Motorsports officially became a Ford operation on Thursday. The merger deal was signed between principals from RPM and Yates Racing and the appropriate paperwork was filed with Ford Motor Company. Richard Petty Motorsports brings three additional teams to the table, the #9, #19 and #43. Ford officials have said repeatedly what a coup it was to gain #9-Kasey Kahne, who finished 10th in the Sprint Cup point standings, into the fold as well as 28-year-old #43-AJ Allmendinger. #19-Elliott Sadler will also join the driver roster which included #98-Paul Menard from the former Yates organization. RPM is currently operating out of Statesville, N.C. The former Yates Racing buildings in Concord, N.C. are currently being remodeled to accommodate all four teams. That move is scheduled for Speedweeks in February.(FoxSports)(12-4-2009).

 

Note:  It will be interesting to see how racing gets by in 2010, what with the economy the way it’s been.

 

NASCAR.com:  http://www.nascar.com/

 

New England Tractor:  http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/

 

Dirt Track Digest’s forum:  http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/forum/index.php

 

 

Former OVRP Dirt Oval runners:

Well, in a way, some of the following names still race at the Dirt Oval, but I thought I’d include how they did last weekend out in Rhode Island in the indoor Champ Kart races. 

On Friday, Chris Daley was 3rd, Greg Simmons 12th, Eric Zeh 13th Ryan Kendall 17th, George Bark, Jr. 18th and Clinton Mills 22nd.

On Saturday, Ryan was 1st, Eric 4th, Chris 5th, Randy Brundage 10th, Clinton 12th, Greg 19th and George 24th.

 

If you’re interested, there are some videos of the racing from last weekend, and you can see them if you go here, although it might take a little work to get to view them all.

http://gspvideo.com/2009/12/dunkin-donuts-center-december-4-5-2009/

 

 

Other racin’ stuff:

 

In a Newsletter from OCFS the other day, it had this in it:

 

AWARDS BANQUET - JANUARY 16, 2010 - KUHLS HIGHLAND HOUSE - MIDDLETOWN NY - TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE BY CONTACTING BOB PERRAN 352-503-3847

2010 SEASON PASSES WILL GO ON SALE WEDNESDAY DEC 16, 2009 THEY MAKE A GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT. YOU CAN PURCHASE THEM BY CALLING THE OFFICE AT (845) 342-2573 OR BY STOPPING AT THE
SPEEDWAY OFFICE ANY DAY BETWEEN 9am - 3pm.

 

PLEASE NOTE: THE SPEEDWAY OFFICE HAS MOVED TO 45 DOLSON AVENUE IN MIDDLETOWN FOR THE WINTER MONTHS ACROSS FROM GILMANS CLEANERS. IF YOU NEED DIRECTIONS CALL THE OFFICE NUMBER.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

FROM THE MANAGEMENT OF OCFS. THANKS FOR A GREAT SEASON AND HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE ON
OPENING DAY APRIL 17, 2010

 

No, I have no idea as to why the office is no longer on the fairgrounds property.  Seems a little strange to me.  Then again, I had heard that another “office” in that building has also moved to another location.  Maybe Mr. Gurda also owns the building on Dolson Avenue?  Another thing – I feel they should have included the price for those season passes in the Newsletter – and the banquet, as well.

 

 

More racin’ stuff:

Last week I had quite a long section on this:  “The subject of the e-mail was: “Driver Counsels Wannabes”.

Here is a little more that has been sent out since my last column:

 

“Regarding Mel's comment!
                            Back in the early 70s,I had won the feature on Sunday night at Sun Praire,Wi.driving the Cascio Offy.Having breakfast monday morning,my dad said to me!How much did you make last night.?I,said! Oh,a hundred bucks!He said you go out there and bust your A--,in them things for a hundred dollars.?You should have that head of yours examined.Well, we really took in,98,bucks! Damn good thing I didn't tell him,I only got,40% of that 98,bucks!”

 

 

“Midget racing was lucrative in 1946 when I first started. I would win the B-main in my own car, collect $160.00 or so, then do it over three or four times a week. We never made less than $ 50.00 every time we unloaded the car. So when racing crowds began to fall, the midgets were competing with every other type of cars, and the fan base was saturated. About 1956 the money was so scarce, it didnt pay as Bob Clements father said: "To bust your A--," in them things. However it was fun, and a real racer will run for the love of it. Once you get the green flag, money and everything else goes on hold until after the race.”

 

 

“Mel, Spoken by a true racer, that is so true wether you are on two wheels
or four, what stands out in my mind was the first lap on the Daytona
speedway on a H-D KR at 145+, I would not take a million bucks for that thrill of
going down the backstretch and seeing this black wall coming at me, I
thought it was an optical illusion so I raised up to look over the faring and
just about blew myself off of the bike. Memories money can't buy.”

 

 

“There are no speedometers in champ cars or any open wheel cars that I know of. My ride was four wheels, and it was suggested at the driver's meeting, we keep it around 65. We had leaned out the 255 Offy, and going down the back stretch at the Milwaukee mile, my wind screen folded down onto the steering wheel. This had never happend to me before, nor did my sleeves blow up like a balloon before. I had not fastened the velcro on my borrowed uniform and gloves. T-shirts never caused a problem at speed!”

 

 

“Mel, Milwaukee was a great track for the bikes until it was paved. Bob”

 

The History of the Sport:

 

This week I’m going to take you back to April 21, 1963 and the 100-mile Indy car race at the one mile paved oval that was on the New Jersey State Fairgrounds property.  Something quite historical happened on that day – well, I guess it’s safe to say TWO historical things happened.   Since I had the opportunity to serve in the US Army, courtesy of Uncle Sam, I was quite a distance from Trenton on that day, being at Ft. Bliss, Texas.  But a Texan managed to win the pole position and another Texan managed to win the race.   The pole winner – Lloyd Ruby, with a time of 33.83 seconds, having bettered the old track record of 33.95 which was set by Don Davis.  Davis averaged 106.038 MPH, while Ruby averaged 106.414.  Funny thing is, Ruby wasn’t driving a typical Indy Car that day.  Ruby was driving a rear-engined Lotus powered by a Climax engine.  So there is one of those historical things – that was the first time a rear-engined car had won the pole for an Indy car race – “current” racing, that is.  A.J. Foyt led the first ten laps, and then Lloyd took over until his transmission let go at the end of 40 laps.  A.J. had qualified 2nd.  After Lloyd dropped out, A.J. led the remaining laps - 41 through 100, to win the race.  And that is where the second historical thing happened.  That was the last time a “dirt” Indy car won an Indy car race on a paved track.  And I wasn’t there!

 

How they finished:

1.  A.J. Foyt  2.  Parnelli Jones  3.  Jim Hurtubise  4.  Jim McElreath  5.  Troy Ruttman  6.  Bobby Marshman  7.  Len Sutton  8.  Roger McCluskey  9.  Ronnie Duman  10.  Johnny Rutherford  11.  Bob Mathouser  12.  Curtis Turner (yes, THAT Curtis Turner)  13.  Colby Scroggin  14.  Fred “Jiggs” Peters  15.  Eddie Sachs  16.  Allen Crowe  17.  Don Branson  18.  Rodger Ward  19.  Lloyd Ruby  20.  Mickey Shaw  21.  Cotton Farmer  22.  Chuck Hulse.

Gig Stephens and Eddie Hoyle failed to qualify.  Eddie Sachs and Parnelli Jones had their main cars break prior to qualifying and they had driven other cars in the race – Sachs in the City of Victoria # 37 and Jones in the HOW # 21 Offy.  Sachs was originally in the Competition Engineering # 9, while Parnelli was in the Agajanian # 98.

It took 00:58:32 for them to complete the 100 miles and that came out to an average speed of 102.491.

The purse:  A whopping $17,736.00

 

Note:  I’ve sent in a couple of photos of that Lotus car the Lloyd drove – one from Trenton and one from Milwaukee where he is outside I believe it’s Don Branson, in a roadster.  Notice the size difference. I would imagine that they will appear below this spot if you are reading this on the New England Tractor website - http://newenglandtractor.com/racereport/

The photos are from the Willem Oosthoek collection.

 

Rumor Dep’t:

 

I have to imagine that most of you that read my columns are basically from the same area that I live in – namely the Northeast.  Well, don’t be surprised if in the not to distant future there is a new racing chassis business for dirt track modified racing making the scene.  Hopefully I’ll have more news on this in future columns.

 

Video time:

 

It’s that time of the year, again.  Very close to Christmas Day and New Years Day – or to be “Politically correct” – the Holiday Season.  Last year I linked to a video by John Berry – O Holy Night.  Sadly, that particular video is no longer available.  Oh, there are quite a few O Holy Night videos out there, showing the singer singing the song.  John Berry is with you again, this year; I’m pleased to say, even if it’s just one photo, with him singing.  Over to the right are more links to other singers.  Enjoy!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQDPo32DwbI

 

 

Can’t believe department:

Groom twittering from altar:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_wedding

 

Other (non racing) news:

Projected things that need to be done because of global warming:

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/sci_climate_adapting

 

 

A drop in unemployment?  Of course there is.  There has to be when you look at it.  Less people working equals less getting laid off, right?: 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091204/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy

 

Getting more jobs?

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20091208/us_time/08599194595500

 

How can you put people to work when there are no jobs out there, since a good part of them are now out of the country?:

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091205/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_economy

 

And this, too:

 

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131127

 

http://www.autoextremist.com/fumes1/

 

 

Pensions and health benefits:

 

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091207/NEWS/912070318

 

Food pantries – in my area they have seen a big increase of people/families making use of them.  I imagine it’s worse in some areas and better in others, but here is a little info on what it’s like here in the area where I live:

 

 http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091209/NEWS/912090339/-1/NEWS

 

Are these true?

 

The other day I was in one of our local supermarkets, and I happened to run into a salesman that I knew from back in my working days.  I’ve seen this salesman quite a few times since I stopped working, back in 1996, and on some of those occasions it was at a Deli that he had.  He told me something quite interesting.  While he had his Deli, he was told by a soft drink vendor who was servicing his store, that he made more off one case of soda that he delivered to his Deli, than he made on delivering a whole pallet of the same product to Wal-Mart.  Guess who’s making a killing?

 

Those spiral fluorescent light bulbs – if you break one in your home – it can cause Mercury contamination that can cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars to clean up?  Yet, in the future, they will be about the only kind you’ll be able to buy?  Oh yes, they’re made in China.  Figures.  I betcha that if you go into a store other than a food store, most of what is offered for sale is made out of this country.  And they wonder why there are no jobs?  Give me a break!

 

In Detroit, where the public school system is almost bankrupt, it was found that the Administrators had been sending pay checks out to over 250 “employees” that didn’t exist?

 

Will the final sum for all bailouts total $23.7 trillion?  If so, that’s close to $79,000 for every individual in our country – or $316,000.00 for average family of four?  My wife and I would like our $158,000.00 soon.

 

Has our government actually loaned $10 billion to Brazil for off shore drilling for oil?

 

Is it true that Montana and North Dakota have about 4 billion barrels of oil in the Bakken Formation region?  Add that to what’s in Alaska and it would cost less than $20.00 a barrel to extricate.  Meanwhile we have to import oil from you know where?  Why?

 

Here’s part of the reason why:  http://www.reformation.org/energy-non-crisis.html

I also have a nice video by this same gentleman that pertains to the exact same thing.  Interested?  E-mail me and I’ll send it to you.

 

Will the Health Care Bill eventually force private insurance companies out of business, and put everyone into a government run system?

 

The way things are worded in the Health Care Bill, might it be possible that there is no intention of providing health care choices, but that it is a “cover” for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of our government, and if so, might it possibly destroy major portions of our Constitution?  Retired Attorney Michael Connelly thinks so.  See what he has to say, here:

http://michaelconnelly.viviti.com/entries/general/the-truth-about-the-health-care-bills

 

 

Is coffee, with its caffeine, the number two cause of cancer?

 

Has the FDA suppressed vital information on some drugs that are actually more deadly than helpful?

 

 

 

Closing with these:

 

The economy is so bad that I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
The economy is so bad I ordered a burger at McDonalds and the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?"
The economy is so bad that CEO's are now playing miniature golf.
The economy is so bad if the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them.
The economy is so bad Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.
The economy is so bad McDonalds is selling the 1/4 ouncer.
The economy is so bad parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.
The economy is so bad a truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico .
The economy is so bad Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore.
The economy is so bad Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen

 

 

May “Guardian Angels” sit on the shoulders of all of our race drivers and guide them safely around the tracks!

 

Drive safe! 

 

As usual, you can reach me at:  ygordad@yahoo.com