NASCAR Needs to Rev Up

He's the youngest champ in race history

(AP) - Leading on the final lap of the Daytona 500, a pack of veterans baring down on his bumper, Trevor Bayne didn't panic. He figured it would be a cool story to tell someday, how he led a lap in NASCAR's biggest show. Somebody, maybe Tony Stewart, would pass him any moment and Bayne would dutifully push him to the win. But the pack never came. Nobody ever passed him, and with one smooth block of Carl Edwards, Bayne pulled off a stunning upset. Unlikely? Absolutely. Unworthy? He sure thought so. Unbelievable? That's Daytona for you. More»

Ex-Alaska gov won't play official role but does have 'NASCAR's blessing'

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin is planning a romantic Valentine's Day—at the Daytona 500. Although the former Alaska governor won't have an official role in the race, she does have "NASCAR's blessing," the president of the Daytona International Speedway tells the Daytona Beach News-Journal , quoting the sport's governing body as saying, " NASCAR does not take sides either way." More»

Layoffs, property price plunge leaves middle-aged workers in limbo

(NEWSER) - Tens of thousands of middle-aged white-collar workers have been left jobless and stranded in Michigan by the recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. Auto industry veterans laid off by the Big Three are finding themselves competing against against younger people for a smattering of job openings. With property prices down 45% from their 2006 peak, people are unable or unwilling to sell their homes and seek work elsewhere. More»

(NEWSER) - The collapse of Detroit has turned its Canadian counterpart into a veritable ghost town, the Economist reports. Located just across the Detroit River in Ontario, Windsor depends heavily on the Big Three, and now claims Canada’s highest unemployment rate at 14.4%. But Ontario’s problems go beyond “Detroit North”—tight post-9/11 border security and a high Canadian dollar have strangled cross-border trade, and the recession has killed demand for raw materials. More»

Retailers jump ship as recession, auto industry's collapse hit city hard

(NEWSER) - The auto industry's woes have sped up the long decline of retail in Detroit, the Wall Street Journal reports. America's 11th-largest city now lacks a single outlet from any national grocery chain downtown. Starbucks has just four stores in the city of 900,000, and as of last week, Motor City residents can't even buy a Chrysler in town. More»