The Driver Suit Blog

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

By David G. Firestone

Since I’m on vacation, I’m rehashing an old Driver Suit Blog Radio script. This one is on a lottery ticket.

Most times, if I talk about an item, it’s something I own. In this case however, the eBay purchase had to be canceled, for reasons not worth getting into here. But I will post photos of the item. Now I’ve gotten into collecting lottery “test tickets” or tickets that were made to be inspected by lotteries that have since been encased in one form or another. I’ll do something on them later.

The only one I wanted, was the one I didn’t get, is this. This is one of the first tickets printed at a printing plant in Gilroy, California, home of the famous Gilroy Garlic Festival. It’s not so much the ticket itself, but the rabbit hole I went down while researching this. This just gets crazy! In order to understand, we have to start at the very beginning of the California lottery…

In California, the Lottery Act of 1984 was presented to voters in November of that year as a ballot proposition, Proposition 37, and passed with 58%. The Act mandated an extremely tight timeline for establishing the Lottery and bringing it to operational status. As such the governor appointed the first Lottery commissioners on January 29, 1985. The state government immediately built the Lottery’s original headquarters in only three months in the Richards neighborhood of Sacramento, where it still resides today.

Like many other state lotteries, California uses Light & Wonder, Inc., formerly Scientific Games Corporation, to manufacture and sell their scratch-off tickets. SGC dates back to 1917, to a company called Autotote, which made totalizator systems for parimutuel wagering at racetracks. In the build up to California’s lottery debut, SCG was responsible for ticket designs and implementation. At the time, SCG utilized Dittler Bros. Inc. of Atlanta, a printing company specializing in lottery ticket printing. This is where the problems start.

You see SGC was well aware of how lucrative this contract would be. They were the firm that wrote California’s lottery initiative and contributed $2.2 million($6,205,487.62) of the $2.4 million($6,769,622.86) spent to finance the measure. They were lobbying all over California for Proposition 37 to pass.

When assured they would get the contract if Prop 37 passed, SCG started their own ticket printing company in Gilroy California…in September, 1984, two months before the lottery initiative passed. Yes, you heard me right. Two months before the vote even took place, SCG started building a plant. Not a cheap plant either. This plant cost $6 million in 1984, roughly $16,924,057. in 2022.

Even with the tight deadlines, it became clear that there were going to be issues. The Gilroy plant was kept secret, using assumed names, much the same way Walt Disney bought land in Orlando for Disney World. This became a serious issue in the lead up to the debut of the California Lottery on October 3, 1985.

The Gilroy plant came into conflict with Dittler Bros. Inc., who had a deal exclusively produce tickets for SGC. The problem was that Dittler Bros. Inc. was not capable of keeping up with the demand set on SCG by the state of California, and everyone knew it. That, combined with transportation costs made the new Gilroy plant the only real option. So, with a lot to lose, and little to gain from this new arrangement, Dittler Bros. Inc. sued SCG. The judge in this case, Osgood Williams, my new favorite judge name, ruled on June 14, 1985, that SCG had to use Dittler as the main supplier, but then also gave Dittler 75 days–the entire time California is allowing for production of tickets–to produce 700 million tickets for two games.

It very quickly became apparent that this wasn’t going to work. During another set of court battles leading up to June 30, 1986, some new facts became clear. It was clear that California wasn’t happy with Dittler’s work, to the point that they told SGC to fire Dittler on June 12, 1986. This would cost the company $32 million if they didn’t. It also emerged that Dittler had overcharged SGC for materials, as ruled by a court auditor-arbitrator. This would culminate in SGC finally opening their new ticket printing plant on June 30, 1986.

The SGC/Dittler feud would go on a little longer, with a 1991 lawsuit concerning the Florida lottery. Though the company was, by that point, more of a spent force. Dittler’s reputation would further be tainted through the McDonald’s Monopoly fraud. Dittler and Jerome Paul Jacobson crossed paths, when he was hired as a security guard for Dittler, who, in conjunction with Simon Marketing, created the first McDonald’s Monopoly in 1987. Jacobson would quickly figure out how to move the top pieces to allies, and quickly did. This went on until 2001, when the whole scheme came to light. Jacobson and his allies would spend time in jail. Jacobson has said if given the chance, he’d do it all over again.

This is one of the longest and oddest rabbit holes I’ve ever gone down while researching something. It just keeps going. I’ve never had so much news and lawsuits related to an item I’ve researched before, and I had to share it with you.

Next Week, the history of my favorite fast food meal is examined.

Links:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-06-14-mn-2537-story.html
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-06-25-mn-20271-story.html

By David G. Firestone

By the time you read this, I will be on a badly needed vacation. This will be a rehash of a script that I wrote for Driver Suit Blog Radio. Enjoy!

Last year, I went down an odd rabbit hole. One of my coworkers took her family to Seattle for spring break. She was talking about her vacation in the break room, as you do, and she mentioned how nice The Evergreen State College campus was. I thought that the name Evergreen State College sounded really familiar, even though there was no logical reason I should have. So, after work, I went home and looked up Evergreen State College, and it came to me.

In 2017, there was a series of protests there, which were handled badly by all involved, and that’s all I’m going to say about it. But looking deeper into this college, I had to start laughing. According to Wikipedia:

“Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a pre-determined path of study. Full-time students can enroll in interdisciplinary academic programs, in addition to stand-alone classes. Programs typically offer students the opportunity to study several disciplines in a coordinated manner. Faculty write substantive narrative evaluations of students’ work in place of issuing grades.

“Evergreen was one of many alternative colleges and programs launched in the 1960s and 1970s, often described as experiments. While the vast majority of these have either closed or adopted more mainstream approaches, Evergreen is pursuing its mission, although enrollment is declining.”

There is a reason these “alternative colleges” failed. They tried to change the system, but the system always wins when it comes to education. The people who want to change the system can’t work within the system, so they think that the world needs to change, instead of themselves. Well, the world sees right through it, and colleges like this are seen as a joke.

If you need proof this “college” has no real credibility as an institution, here it is. Evergreen State College is NOT open enrollment, yet they have a 99% acceptance rate. 99% is seen as the consensus, since some sources state 99.5%. If this was an open enrollment community college, this wouldn’t be too shocking, but this is supposedly a post-high school college. For all of the students who enroll, 99% of them get accepted.

Now let me explain why this removes any credibility this school may have. There is an argument that every student should be given the chance to go to college. My version is that the students who could make the most of an opportunity should be given one. The D- student who spends more time in detention or deans office than class shouldn’t be given that chance. This school is for liberals who have no other option, working or military service included. There are no real standards for admission.

Also, the “design their own study towards a degree” thing isn’t a great move. You basically are giving the students the very false impression that they can dictate their own ways to success. Also, the fact that “faculty write substantive narrative evaluations of students’ work in place of issuing grades” thing takes even more credibility away, since the A-F grade standard has been a thing in the US for over a century, and is the accepted standard. It’s basically a college for students who can’t handle working within accepted standards, and this isn’t an impressive look for potential employers.

But in thinking about this, I had an epiphany. This school accepts 99% of all students who enroll. How bad of a screw up do you have to be to get rejected? How bad of a student, or a person are you where you are in the 1% of students who have applications rejected? This school ignores all standards, yet 1% of applications are in the reject basket.

To put this in perspective, Harvard University, which has real standards, accepts 5% of all applications. This means it’s five times easier to get accepted to Harvard than it is to get rejected by The Evergreen State College. Just take a few seconds and let that register…I’ll wait.

The school and those who attend can’t understand why this college is slowly fading, yet the fact that nobody could possibly take this school seriously, given the complete lack of standards or real direction this school has, should be obvious! Seriously, even some of the most liberal, against the grain small liberal arts college still use the A-F system, yet this regional college thinks they have a better system than the accepted standard.

Again, this school is for students who don’t have any other options, since anyone who can go to a better school does so. If you are enrolled, it’s a good school, if not, it’s a joke. Working in the system gets you credibility. Redesigning the wheel will get you nowhere, and nobody will respect you. The system isn’t going to change to please a regional college in Washington State, so they need to adapt, since the rest of the world won’t.

Next Week I will feature a lottery ticket video.

Link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_State_College

By David G. Firestone

Starting next week, I will be on sabbatical for all of July. This is my summer vacation I take every year. But before I go, I will discuss my thoughts on the 2024 Chicago Street Races.

I liked the idea of a street race, but I was always trepidacious about it being in Chicago. I was of the opinion that if this was to work, it should be done in a city with a much bigger NASCAR fan base, like Charlotte, or Daytona Beach. That said, it did work in 2023, with minimal issues, unlike The Las Vegas Grand Prix.

That said, this year, I think this is a do or die moment for Chicago and NASCAR. If the Chicago Street Race deal is to be renewed, this year’s race has to go perfectly, in terms of stuff the organizers can control. Weather is out of the control of anyone. If the race goes well, this could get the Chicago Street Race renewed. Key word here: Could.

Given how good the TV ratings last year’s races did, NBC and NASCAR want the street races to continue. It was one of the highest rated races for both NASCAR, and NBC. However, the local population is still not happy that the race is happening, given all the disruptions downtown. Many city leaders do NOT want this to happen, let alone renewed. Even with the millions of dollars this generated for Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois, many don’t like the Street Races.

In the event that the Street Races don’t get renewed, what happens with NASCAR and Chicago? In my mind, probably nothing. Chicago has never been a big racing city. Chicagoland Speedway is more than likely out, since the racing there was mediocre at best. Maybe a suburb would try and host, but there are other options on NASCAR’s table.

Other cities have expressed interest in holding a NASCAR street race. If this deal falls through, the other cities would be willing to hold a street race. Realistically, Chicago doesn’t really need NASCAR, and NASCAR doesn’t really need Chicago. Again, Chicago isn’t a major racing market, not for a lack of trying. Between the temporary loss of the Route 66 NHRA Nationals, and the lack of events at Chicagoland, the Chicago area has proven to be a lukewarm racing market.

The addition of a series of concerts is a smart move. Formula 1 did this at Circuit of The Americas, and it has proven effective. This will bring in fans, but could it keep the Street Race in Chicago? Maybe it could. But realistically, Chicago already has Lollapalooza, so it might not.

I would like to see the Chicago Street Race renewed, but I’m not holding my breath.

By David G. Firestone

So for week two of the new blog format, I’m going to discuss some news stories that happened in the world of racing over the last few weeks. The blog was short last week, as I had a few issues last week. So let’s get started.

First, let’s discuss the new IndyCar TV deal. Last week, it was announced that IndyCar will be moving to FOX from NBC starting in 2025. In their statement, IndyCar said the following, link below:

“All 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Races To Air on FOX

Agreement Includes Extensive, Multiplatform Coverage of Indy 500 across FOX Sports Family of Networks

INDYCAR and FOX Sports announced June 13 the new exclusive home of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the iconic Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge beginning in 2025. The new media rights deal provides a massive and unprecedented increase in exposure for North America’s premier open-wheel racing series, with every 2025 race airing on FOX and available on the FOX Sports app. FOX Deportes will carry exclusive Spanish-language television coverage, with a schedule to be announced at a later date.

FOX will also provide coverage of Indy 500 qualifications on both Saturday and Sunday, bringing the total number of broadcast network windows to 19, a record for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. INDYCAR will become the only premier motorsport in the United States with exclusive major broadcast network coverage for all its races.

“This represents unrivaled exposure and provides an unparalleled growth opportunity for the most competitive and entertaining motorsport on the planet,” INDYCAR CEO Mark Miles said. “FOX Sports is a fully committed partner, ready to bring engaging and technically innovative coverage to millions of fans across the country while also promoting INDYCAR thoroughly across all its platforms.”

“Adding the iconic Indianapolis 500 and delivering the entire NTT INDYCAR SERIES to the FOX Sports roster fits perfectly within our model of teaming with sports’ largest events and best-in-class brands,” FOX Sports CEO and Executive Producer Eric Shanks said. “We’re honored to be the new broadcast home to ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,’ an incredibly special event to everyone at FOX Sports.”

The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season kicks off with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 2 and concludes with the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Aug. 31. The 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge takes place on Sunday, May 25. The full schedule for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES was released today and can be viewed here.

Indianapolis 500 Race Day coverage will be extensive for fans across the country, with a five-hour window on FOX set aside for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The Indy 500 is annually the world’s largest single-day spectator sporting event, attracting a crowd of more than 300,000 people to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The immersive collaboration will see all practice and qualifying sessions for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES telecast on cable on FS1 and FS2. The majority of INDY NXT by Firestone races will also air on FS1, with FS2 providing supplemental coverage of additional races.

This news comes on the heels of continued growth and momentum for INDYCAR, which has seen rising attendance across its schedule, significant growth in commercial partnerships and record metrics across its digital platforms.

Additional announcements, including on-air talent, will be announced at a later date.”

This is a net positive for IndyCar. NBC is not a sports powerhouse anymore. Fans are increasingly hating their coverage, regardless of the sport. Never mind the fact that Comcast decided to kill off NBCSN, which was doing well, in favor of Peacock, which has lost close to $8 billion dollars and has failed to generate any revenue. I see nothing but good things for IndyCar and FOX, as long as Jamie Little stays out of the booth.

Now we have to discuss this story from By Marshall Pruett on Racer.com. Link below.

“The Arrow McLaren NTT IndyCar Series team has severed its business relationship with Juncos Hollinger Racing.

The move comes after an on-track incident on Sunday at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix caused by Arrow McLaren’s Theo Pourchaire and involving Juncos Hollinger’s Agustin Canapino led to a select group of Canapino’s fans to attack Pourchaire on social media, including death threats that were sent through direct messages.

Both teams worked together and filed a joint statement on Monday that rebuked the behavior, but in the days that followed, Arrow McLaren took the time to assess its ties to the team owned by Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger and chose to conclude the arrangement.

“Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team has terminated its commercial alliance with Juncos Hollinger Racing, effective immediately,” the team said in a statement published Thursday morning.

“This decision follows actions that occurred earlier this week on social media in regards to an on-track incident at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. As reflected in the team’s social media community code, Arrow McLaren will not tolerate any form of abuse or discrimination and totally condemns the online abuse directed toward our team and driver.”

Under the deal, struck during the offseason, Arrow McLaren engaged Juncos Hollinger to make use of available space on the rear tire ramps of JHR’s two Chevy-powered cars to place extra sponsor inventory it could not accommodate on its trio of Chevy-powered cars.

The relationship, which was inspired by the overabundance of sponsors and partners involved with Arrow McLaren, was meant to provide financial benefit for Juncos Hollinger while helping Arrow McLaren to add extra value for a handful of backers. With the tire ramp space having gone unused to far this season, the choice to bring an end to the program in the wake of this week’s issues was taken.

The JHR team is also expected to remove the flourishes of McLaren’s papaya orange from its cars.

“As of today, our strategic partnership with Arrow McLaren has come to a conclusion. We appreciate the time spent with McLaren over past months,” read a statement issued by Juncos Hollinger.

“They are a world class organization which we enjoy competing against week in and week out. While the results of the partnership did not mature, we have the upmost respect for them and are confident in the future of Juncos Hollinger Racing.”

I’m willing to bet that Arrow McLaren really didn’t want this partnership. I’m willing to bet it wasn’t really as beneficial as they would like you to believe. I’m also willing to bet that they wanted out, and used this as a convenient excuse to end the partnership. To me, this has all the earmarks of a “let’s get out while we can” type of deal.

Also, to the “select group of Canapino’s fans” who attacked on social media…. Way to go! You gave Arrow McLaren the rope they needed to hang Juncos Hollinger Racing with, and they got hung. You may cost Canapino his ride, and you may drive Juncos Hollinger Racing out of business. Good work guys, good work!

For the final part of this week’s edition, I’m going to give my thoughts on Martin Truex Jr.’s upcoming retirement. Racing is a sport that can take a toll on a person’s body. Let’s be honest, the man has had a hell of a career. He’s a great driver. He seems like a good person, and I think he’s earned it. I didn’t realize he was 43 years old. He might come back part time, or for one or two races, but he’s certainly earned the ability to enjoy a retirement. Vaya Con Dios Martin!

With that, this weeks Friday Feature comes to an end, next week I’ll have some more news, and maybe something new. See you next week.

Links:

https://www.indycar.com/news/2024/06/06-13-fox-2025schedules

https://racer.com/2024/06/06/arrow-mclaren-severs-ties-with-juncos-hollinger

https://www.jayski.com/2024/06/14/martin-truex-jr-expected-to-announce-retirement-friday