HAPPY APRIL FOOLS’ DAY! With their racing budgets deemed “unnecessary expenditures,†GM and Chrysler are ordered to cease racing operations at the end of the season.
In a move sure to spark outrage, the White House announced today that GM and Chrysler must cease participation in NASCAR at the end of the 2009 season if they hope to receive any additional financial aid from the government. Companies around the globe—Honda and Audi, to name two—have drawn down racing operations, and NASCAR itself has already felt the pinch in the form of reduced team spending. A complete withdrawal from America’s premier racing series is expected to save more than $250 million between GM and Chrysler, a substantial amount considering the drastic measures being implemented elsewhere. … Details
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The Economic Meltdown Is Affecting Everyone
Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past 6 months, it’s been pretty difficult for a day to go by without hearing yet more gloomy news on the economy. And for many of us, it hasn’t been just watching/reading news or water cooler conversation–it’s been a brutal, harsh reality. Like most big corporations, SR’s parent publishing company has trimmed staff down to skeletal levels, and a few friends outside the magazine have been let go after years of service by their respective companies. For quite a few of us, the New Year was rung in with, “So long 2008, don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”
Nowhere in the motorcycle industry has the economic meltdown been felt more severely than with… Details
Bars no longer need to be private clubs after July 1
Utah’s ski industry has long boasted about “the greatest snow on Earth,” but the apres-ski scene was not often considered a selling point due to restrictive liquor laws. Especially confusing to tourists, the laws stipulated that bars technically had to be private clubs. Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman signed a bill Monday that will do away with the rule on July 1.Â
“It puts us on a more level playing field with some of our competition,” Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah, the marketing arm for Utah’s ski resorts, told The Salt Lake City Tribune. “We’ve got the best snow and the best access so the only thing people could beat us up with is Utah’s liquor laws. We’ll think carefully how we’ll message this, we’ll be subtle because we’re not going to become a Las Vegas.”…Â Details
It will be history in the making when the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg hits the streets, Friday, April 3, through Sunday, April 5, 2009.
For the first time ever, the St. Petersburg race will be the opener for the 17-race 2009 Indy Car Series. The Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg, the American Le Mans Series feature race, which will be run on Saturday, April 4, will be the second stop on the 2009 ALMS schedule.
The 1.8 mile, 14-turn race track running through the streets of downtown St. Petersburg remains unchanged for 2009, according to race organizers… Details