Many believe there is too much money being paid drivers, spent by teams, and a disconnect between racers and ordinary fans. In these tough economic times between gas, overinflated motel prices, meals and souvenirs, the average fan can spend $1000 or more on a single racing event.

Our personal gripe lists includes price gouging by area motels (fans should get a discount-not a 2-3 time rate hike), plus unearthly prices for souvenirs).More fans are choosing to desert the stands and watch at home rather than deal with $40 t-shirts and $7 beers topped with massive traffic jams. Send us your opinion

Anyone who knows me knows I have one favorite "big time" driver...Tony Stewart, since the first time I saw him drive. The following is thanks to Tony's PR guy, Mike Arning.

Smells Like Victory… Again!

Get the Old Spice Towel NASCAR Driver Tony Stewart Used After Winning the

April 26 Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series Race at Talladega Superspeedway

Fans Can Log On to OldSpice.com or Tony Stewart.com to

Place a Bid Until 9 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 5

All Proceeds Will be Donated to the Tony Stewart Foundation

WHAT: Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart is working with Old Spice to give a lucky fan the sweat towel right off his shoulder – unwashed and autographed! Directly after winning the April 26 Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Stewart signed his Old Spice towel in black ink and handed it over to a charity auction to benefit the Tony Stewart Foundation.

The charity auction begins at 9 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 28 and will run until 9 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 5. Fans can place a bid for the autographed towel by logging on to www.OldSpice.com or www.TonyStewart.com.

Throughout the 2008 racing season, every time Stewart wins a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series or NASCAR Nationwide Series race, his Old Spice victory lane towel will be auctioned off for charity.

Towels from Stewart’s two previous wins this season – February 16 in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and February 25 in the Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., – collectively raised $1,391.63.

FUN FACT: During an average race, temperatures inside Stewart’s race car can reach up to 150 degrees, and he can lose 10-15 pounds by sweating. Stewart relies on Old Spice antiperspirants, deodorants and body washes to stay cool and smell great before and after a race.

BACKGROUND:Old Spice is a longtime NASCAR sponsor and has sponsored Stewart, a 32-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner, for the past eight years. The brand is the No. 1 antiperspirant/deodorant stick and body wash choice for guys in the United States.

The Tony Stewart Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that raises funds primarily distributed to three specific groups – children, drivers and animals. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than $2.1 million to assist charitable initiatives for more than 80 organizations throughout the United States. One of the prime beneficiaries of the Foundation is the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C., which serves as a year-round camp for children ages seven to 15 with an assortment of life-threatening illnesses.

-TSC-

About P&G (NYSE:PG):

Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Folgers®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, and Braun®. The P&G community consists of 138,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is a lot of gossip going on regarding Tony's future after his contract with Joe Gibbs expires at the end of next year. The rumor is he wants to start his own team. Certainly there are a lot of teams who'd love to have him on board. He has even become adept at something that used to be awkward for him...doing commercials.

Here is what Gibbs has to say...

Statement from J.D. Gibbs Regarding Tony Stewart’s Contract Status

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (April 24, 2008) – The following is a statement from J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing, regarding the contract status of driver Tony Stewart.

“There has been much speculation regarding the future of our driver, Tony Stewart. Tony is currently here through 2009, and from a Joe Gibbs Racing standpoint, we hope he drives for us longer than that and retires here. Tony is a great partner and a huge asset to Joe Gibbs Racing. Right now, we are focused on winning races and winning the next two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships under his current contract.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We've been away from racing "news" for so long we've lost track but we're receiving so much news we've decided to "take it up again", perhaps in a blog because the one thing about racing news is it is changing constantly. We'll let you know when and where our next efforts will take place and hope you join us....

Is "global warming" a fact? Some say (gee--could those be oil guys?) global warming is a myth. After watching the plight of polar bears who are in danger of extinction from melting ice and loss of food, we say the oil guys are full of it...(our money, these days). In fact it is cutting back on big time race attendance as fans discover it's becoming too expensive to spend a weekend at a race and fork over $1000 or so. It may be emptying the stands but it's great for TV racings as more people stay home to watch their favorite sport.

GREEN FOR RACING:The IndyCar Series and Honda Motor Co. announced that the new Honda FCX Clarity would lead the field to the green flag for the Indy Japan 300.

The decision to feature the zero-emission fuel cell vehicle is part of the IndyCar Series’ leadership in the greening of motorsports. The IndyCar Series is the first and only major racing series in the world to run exclusively on a renewable fuel, using 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in all of its cars. Scheduled for release in the United States this summer and in Japan in the fall, the FCX Clarity runs on hydrogen and emits no carbon dioxide or other environmentally harmful emissions. The Clarity emits only water and is considered to be on the cutting edge of environmentally responsible vehicle design.

The FCX Clarity is powered by the highly-compact, efficient and powerful Honda V Flow fuel stack. Boasting a low-slung, dynamic and sophisticated appearance made possible by the innovative layout of the fuel cell power plant, the FCX Clarity offers superior design and driving performance as well as environmental responsibility.

TERRY ANGSTADT (President of the Commercial Division for the Indy Racing League, sanctioning body of the IndyCar Series): "The FCX Clarity is just the latest example of why Honda continues to be such a great partner for the IndyCar Series. They share many of our brand attributes, including innovation, technology and our effort to go green and be better stewards of our environment. We’re honored to see Honda unveil this cutting edge vehicle at one of our races and look forward to working with them in the future to continue spreading the greening message to race fans and consumers worldwide.”

In it our modest racing "heroes" have a "friend", "rival" or what have you who thinks he's big enough and rich enough to challenge, out do or do in NASCAR...427 lb Clayton Burdick.

If you'd like a notice of publication date, email us. No obligation to buy. Price will be $29.95 in U.S. $39.95 elsewhere (for mailed copies).