Free Republic

BLANCHESTER, OH (FOX19) - A crying woman was found captive in a pit dug in her neighbor's backyard shed early Wednesday, police say. Dennis Dunn, 45, was arrested and charged with her kidnapping. Officers first responded to the Blanchester neighborhood at 1:30 a.m. after a woman reported her daughter, Jennifer Elliott, missing from a Central Avenue home, according to Blanchester Police Chief Scott Reinbolt. A neighbor called to report hearing cries from a backyard shed around 4 a.m. The first officer who arrived also heard the cries, which led him to the shed. *****VIDEO ON LINK*****

FULL TITLE: Father of kidnapped Tennessee teen divorces her mother, accusing her of 'beating the girl and locking her in the basement' before the 15-year-old was 'snatched' by teacher The 15-year-old Tennessee girl who was allegedly kidnapped by her teacher for more than a month was vulnerable to predators because of the abuse she faced at her mother's hands, court documents say. Elizabeth Thomas was taken away by 'boyfriend' Tad Cummins, 50, on March 13, authorities say. The pair were found in an isolated hut in rural California, 2,500 miles away, on April 20. Now Elizabeth's father claims in divorce...

A man has been charged with fatally shooting a Marine in the drive-thru of a McDonald's in Bedford, Indiana, according to police and NBC affiliate WTHR. Justin Lampkins, 25, was in a truck with his friends in line at the fast food restaurant early Saturday morning about 1:19 a.m., police say. The Marine Corps veteran was involved in a fight after “a horn was sounded” in the line and Evan Schaffer,22, got out of his car and punched Lampkins, WTHR reports. Police say it's unclear who honked the horn.

Full title...........................Father of kidnapped Tennessee teen divorces her mother, accusing her of 'beating the girl and locking her in the basement' before the 15-year-old was 'snatched' by teacher........................... Elizabeth Thomas was easy prey for teacher Tad Cummins, according to her dad Anthony Thomas is divorcing Kimberly, saying she abused some of their 10 kids She hit Elizabeth, pushed her down steps and locked her in a basement, he said That led to Elizabeth being vulnerable to Cummins, Monday's divorce docs say The girl would go to him to get help with panic attacks, a school report claimed Family say that...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will retire at the end of the season, Hendrick Motorsports has announced. Voted the sport's most popular driver for the last 14 seasons, Earnhardt began his career with a start at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 1999. He has since accumulated 26 career wins, including two in the Daytona 500. He also captured a win in the All-Star Race as a rookie.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 Mountain Dew Chevrolet is turning blue for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on May 13 at Kansas Speedway. Earnhardt and Hendrick Motorsports unveiled the new patriotic paint scheme Thursday, which will feature a new promotion just in time for summer, Mountain Dew DEW-S-A.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives used a secret, off-the-books bank account to rent a $21,000 suite at a Nascar race, take a trip to Las Vegas and donate money to the school of one of the agents’ children, according to records and interviews. Agents also used the account to finance undercover operations around the country, despite laws prohibiting government officials from using private money to supplement their budgets, according to current and former government officials and others familiar with the account. The revelations highlight the lax oversight at the A.T.F. that allowed agents and informants...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. wanted to smoke some brisket, like a lot of brisket, hopefully a nice 15-pound chunk of it. This was late last summer, the summer that was churning on without him. He wasn’t racing. He wasn’t traveling every week. He wasn’t in the constant state of movement that had defined his existence for 17 racing seasons, if not before – the 200-mile-per-hour life of a NASCAR megastar. He was sitting around a lot, sitting in his living room in Mooresville, N.C., recovering from a concussion suffered after hitting the wall in June at Michigan...

Go to the link, click on Fantasy Auto Racing, create your team and join a private league with info as follows: Group ID#1179 Group Name Free Republic Racing Group Password jimrob http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/

Monster Energy is reportedly getting the sponsorship rights to NASCAR’s No. 1 series at a per-year rate far less than what Sprint paid. According to a report from Sports Business Daily, Monster’s agreement to sponsor NASCAR’s Cup Series is a two-year agreement with an option for two more years. The energy drink company is reportedly paying $20 million per season, though NASCAR CEO Brian France said the numbers reported weren’t “accurate.”

Jimmie Johnson has a new nickname: Seven-Time. The 41-year-old driver captured his seventh Sprint Cup championship -- and his first in three years -- by winning the Ford EcoBoost 400 on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnson joins Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as a seven-time premier series champion, the most by any driver. It is Johnson's first title since 2013, and his first with this current Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format that began in 2014.

Roush Fenway Racing driver Darrell Wallace Jr. was able to see a grandmother before she passed away thanks to the help of Dale Earnhardt Jr. In two Twitter posts, Wallace shared his favorite memories of his Granny Jan before thanking Earnhardt for letting him use his plane to get to Knoxville, Tennessee, to see her. Wallace also thanked Joey Meier, the spotter for Brad Keselowski for his help. In the post about his grandmother, Wallace recounts her love of playing cards and bingo and how playing with her taught him a few life lessons. Read the post below (in article)

Premium Motorsports announced Wednesday that Reed Sorenson’s No. 55 car will be branded in support of Donald Trump’s campaign at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Election Day is two days later. Sorenson, who sits 39th in the Sprint Cup Series standings, usually drives an unsponsored ride on Sundays. This week, his Toyota Camry will feature a patriotic paint scheme. The primarily white car features a starred ribbon running along the sides, with Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” displayed on the hood and back of the car.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame has been looted overnight in Charlotte, NC. Windows shattered, signs hanging through glass on $195 million dollar museum. A state of emergency declared on the city, the home of NASCAR. no lie pic.twitter.com/GWeZqlDsPU — Katie Peralta (@katieperalta) September 22, 2016 Keith Lamont Scott, father of 7, was killed Tuesday, at the hands of police. Another black man killed by police had the Black Lives Matter community taking to the streets demanding justice or proof of justified action. Police claim Scott was reaching through the window of his vehicle for a gun. However, photos of the...

Civil Rights Protest Planned For Chicagoland Speedway Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 Race New Black Panther Party “troops” will have a presence at the protest, the organizer said. By Joseph Hosey (Patch Staff) - September 16, 2016 4:32 pm ET JOLIET, IL — A civil rights group plans to protest Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Terrance Alton Cox III, of Minority Youth Matters Movement, said his group will protest the lack of black NASCAR drivers, as well as police brutality and unjust incarceration. Cox said “blacks spend $1.3 trillion and there’s only half of a black driver...

ORANGE - Confusion. Shock. Grief. And questions. But few answers. The violent deaths of Robert “Baja Bob” and Sharon Gordon – the father and step-mother of well-known race car driver Robby Gordon – shook the racing community Thursday. “This is devastating,” his son said, fighting back tears. “He taught so many, and I want everyone to know what a good man he was.” Some details emerged Thursday evening: A day earlier, Bob Gordon died from injuries consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the results of an autopsy by the Orange County coroner’s office, while Sharon Gordon died from...

Arguably the greatest NASCAR driver of all-time, Richard Petty is all in for Donald Trump. Petty spoke before a large crowd of 4,000 in North Carolina yesterday. He said, “Look how many jobs Mr. Trump has created over his career […]” Check it out. From BizPac Review: At a Tuesday evening campaign event in Greenville, North Carolina, a state Trump must win to have any shot at defeating Hillary Clinton, retired NASCAR legend Richard Petty took the podium to explain the rationale behind his decision. “Look how many jobs Mr. Trump has created over his career,” Petty pointed out, “so...

CONCORD, N.C. – Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports, has not been medically cleared to compete for the remainder of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season as he continues to recover from a concussion. Earnhardt has missed the last six Sprint Cup races while undergoing treatment. He has been regularly evaluated at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program under the direction of Dr. Micky Collins and with Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty. “I wish I could return to the No. 88 team this season,” Earnhardt said. “To say...

Three men have been arrested for allegedly attacking and beating NASCAR veteran Mike Wallace and his daughter after a North Carolina concert. ... Kenny Wallace posted images of the alleged incident to social media. One photo shows his brother badly beaten and another shows the victim’s daughter on a stretcher. “My brother Mike laid on the ground ‘knocked out’ and it was NOT even a fight and 3 men kept kicking my ‘knocked out’ brother in the face,” Kenny Wallace posted, in part, on his official Facebook page (Warning: Graphic images). “Think about it? .. My brother was knocked out...

CHARLOTTE, NC (WWBT) - A veteran of the NASCAR circuit and his daughter are recovering at a North Carolina hospital after they were allegedly attacked outside a concert in Charlotte. According to a post shared by former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace on Twitter, his brother and fellow NASCAR driver Mike Wallace, along with Mike's daughter Lindsay were beaten as they were leaving a Rascal Flatts concert in Charlotte at the PNC Amphitheater Friday evening. Kenny went on to say that the men "continued to kick Mike in the face while Mike was 'knocked out'" in a series of tweets Sunday...