Free Republic

Bubba Wallace may be the darling of the leftist sports media but he is clearly not at all popular among NASCAR fans, as evidenced by the loud and clear booing of that greeted Wallace during driver introductions this weekend.Fresh off his mere one-race suspension for shoving Kyle Larson – the smallest man in NASCAR – fans at Martinsville treated Wallace to a chorus of boos.As The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck reports, the booing from the Virginia crowd for Wallace was far greater than any other driver received.Wallace will always maintain a residual level of unpopularity among NASCAR fans for the brouhaha...

or years, Interstate 69 being built through Johnson County was a distant idea. On Tuesday, the state awarded more than $1 billion in construction contracts for the last leg of I-69 construction, marking the start of the final two phases of the project between Martinsville and Indianapolis. Now, the entire 27-mile corridor from State Road 39 in Martinsville to Interstate 465 in Indianapolis is under contract, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation. INDOT awarded a $345 million contract for I-69, from Morgan Street in Morgan County to Fairview Road in Johnson County, to Reith-Riley Construction Co. of Goshen, and...

MARTINSVILLE-How do you build Interstate 73? How would you expand U.S. 220 in either direction? The Virginia Department of Transportation is open for suggestions, for these or any other road projects in the commonwealth. To do that, the department is holding a series of “hack-a-thon” events throughout the commonwealth, setting up one in each region. For Martinsville and Henry County, the regional meeting will be this Friday and Saturday at CoLab Roanoke, 1327 Grandin Road SW. “Data and technology are changing how we do business,” saidVDOT Chief Deputy Commissioner Rob Cary in a statement. “These hackathons are opportunities for innovators...

The final leg of Interstate 69 from Martinsville to Indianapolis will cost nearly $1.6 billion.ThatÂ’s according to the Final Environmental Impact Statement for I-69 Section 6 the state released Thursday. The analysis says construction could start in 2020 and wrap up within six years.Section 6 will run along the existing route of State Road 37. That means some of the many businesses that line the highway in Morgan, Johnson and Marion counties will have to move.The FEIS says more than 80 businesses, including a non-profit and fire station, will need to relocate. ThatÂ’s in addition to nearly 200 residences that...

The state has officially taken over the Interstate 69 Section 5 project from I-69 Development Partners.The Indiana Finance Authority announced it had reached an agreement with the private developer in June to take over construction, operation and maintenance of the project after several delays in the completion schedule. To officially take control of the project, the Indiana State Budget Committee had to approve the plans. Additionally, all parties had to endorse a settlement agreement and bondholders had to be paid in full.The finance authority announced Monday it had completed the settlement transaction to terminate the contract with I-69 Development Partners...

On Tuesday, the Henry County Board of Supervisors voted 5-1 to renew the county’s contract with Alcalde and Fay LLC, which advocates for Interstate 73 on the state and federal level on the county’s behalf. Often when there is a split vote, it is tempting to pick a side. In this case, however, I agree with both sides. There are strong arguments for renewing the contract, and there are strong arguments against renewing the contract, but ultimately, the board made the appropriate call. The lone dissenting vote came from Collinsville District Supervisor Joe Bryant, who argued that he didn’t believe...

The state of Indiana needs to do a better job of looking out for the interests of Hoosiers, especially Monroe County Hoosiers, when it comes to construction of Interstate 69. Section 5 of the project, the part that starts just south of Bloomington and goes north to Martinsville, has run into problems. Not for the first time. Again, the private development company the state picked to build the highway has fallen behind on payments for work that’s been done. So major contractor Crider & Crider of Bloomington has stopped working, again, until it gets paid. State officials aren’t saying so,...

Continuing delays on the construction of Interstate 69 between Bloomington and Martinsville have led to another ratings downgrade on the bonds issued to help finance the project. Standard & Poor’s has lowered its rating from BB+ to BB- on $244 million in bonds issued by the Indiana Finance Authority in 2014 for the interstate project. “The rating action reflects our view of increased construction risk at the project, which is eight months behind schedule and about 56 percent complete,” S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Tony Bettinelli said in the ratings agency’s statement on the downgrade last week. The 21-mile project,...

There’s a famous old fable known as “Belling the Cat.” For those who haven’t heard it, it goes like this: A bunch of mice are threatened by a vicious cat, and they call a council to figure out how to solve the problem. One mouse proposes that they place a bell around the cat’s neck. That way, they’ll hear the cat approaching and have plenty of time to run and hide. The mice applaud the plan. They love the plan. It’s a great plan. One mouse asks who’s going to volunteer to place the bell around the cat’s neck. Suddenly,...

Virginia GOP'ers returned fire over the state Democrat Attorney General Mark Herring's move to halt recognition of concealed carry permits from 25 different states. Our General Assembly has already identified who can and cannot conceal handguns in Virginia, and we cannot have that decision undermined by recognizing permits from other states with more permissive standards, Herring said when he made the announcement last week. Republican state legislators could strip Virginia Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe of his protective detail. Virginia Sen. Bill Carrico told The Herald Courier last Tuesday he plans to propose a budget amendment during the State Senate's January...

Years ago, the Tokarski family gathered with friends around a kitchen table in an old Indiana farmhouse. They were discussing the looming construction of Interstate 69 and how they could possibly stop it. The group suspected a project of such magnitude, an interstate route stretching across the southern half of Indiana, would cause severe environmental 
damage. “We really had the project almost at a standstill until Mitch Daniels came into office,” said Thomas Tokarski, now the president of Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads. “We still have huge amounts of support from the people in Indiana.” Since that farmhouse meeting, Tokarski...

It's Martinsville! News updates from the past race: Denny Hamlin out at least 5 more weeks; Mark Martin will be driving for him.

4 to go. Martinsville is up!! Texas, Phoenix and Homestead will wrap it up in a nice pink bow for ya! See ya there!! Merry Pumpkin Chunkin'!!

This ain't no April Fools day joke thread. This week it's Martinsville. Fans have been enjoying the experience for the past 64 years … plenty of action, plenty of excitement on the historic oval.

These smart homes that we're building are specifically designed to fit the needs of these wounded warriors. ... So we're going to build J.B. one of these homes, and obviously we have to have the money to do that. My part of the partnership here is raising awareness and funds, and I do that partially through a concert in the town or city that the wounded warrior is from and wants to live in. So we'll be coming to Martinsville the night before the race and doing a concert at the high school, which was one of the biggest places...

We're running out of races and season fast as Martinsville is on tap. Don't miss the action as the Chase for the Cup heats up. A Safe and HaPPY Halloween to ALL!

Calling all wreckers!! Calling all wreckers!! Do ya copy? We got us a Martinsville mix-up coming this week-end!

FREE REPUBLIC NASCAR THREAD TUMS Fast Relief 500 Welcome to the Sprint Cup Chase Race #6 at (Click on the Pics, Graphics, & Links for related news & info.) Current Cup Driver Standings Martinsville Weekend Track Schedule Martinsville entry list Qualifying: Friday 10/22 3:00 pm/et Sprint Cup Qualifying ~ ESPN2 Race: Sunday 10/24 1:00 pm/et SPRINT Cup Race ~ ESPN 's NASCAR Raceday Pre-Race Show: 10:00 am/etScheduled Green Flag (approx): 1:13 pm/et Track Details with Current & Historical Track info from: NASCAR News, Info and Stats from

Short track racing at Martinsville Sunday. Race #6 of 10 in the Chase for the Cup. JJ's to lose.. a couple drivers are still in the hunt.. See ya there.

WELCOME RACE FANS THE RACE: Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 TRACK: Martinsville Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup Race #5 of 36 for the 2009 season Friday, March 27 9:00 am - Fan gates open 11:00 - 11:50 am Camping World Truck Series practice 12:00 - 1:30 pm -Sprint Cup Series practice 1:45 - 3:30pm - Camping World Truck Series final practice 3:40 pm - Sprint Cup Series qualifying Saturday, March 28 9:00 am - Fan gates open 9:10 am - Camping World Truck Series qualifying 10:30 - 11:15 am Sprint Cup Series practice 11:30 am - Camping World Truck Series...