Nationwide drivers to 'Dash 4 Cash'

If the chance at winning the last Elvis trophy isn't enough incentive to win the Kroger On Track for the Cure 250 today at Memphis Motorsports Park, series sponsor Nationwide Insurance has sweetened the pot.
This season, Nationwide started a "Dash 4 Cash" program with a bonus $25,000 at the races at Nashville, Kentucky, Iowa and Memphis for eligible drivers. As an extra carrot, the eligible driver with the most points overall at the four races gets an additional $50,000.

Brad Keslowski has won $75,000 so far as part of the program, and said it does enter into drivers' minds while on the track.

"We're still out there to win every week," Keslowski said. "There's just a little more emphasis on it, and you'll take a little more risk to do it. I'm a big fan of the program. I was a big fan of the program before I won the money. It's nice to see a program that supports the series and the intent of the series."

Practice results

Mike Bliss and Steve Wallace led the practice sessions for today's race.

Bliss led the first practice with a best lap of 117.863 mph. Landon Cassil was second best with a 117.688 mph lap.

Wallace's lap was 117.947 in the second practice with Jason Leffler, who was been fighting flu-like symptoms on Friday, second with a top speed of 117.755 mph.

Track Walk

Between this morning's qualifying session and the start of the race will be a NASCAR Foundation Track Walk at 11 a.m.

Fans with a race ticket will be able to make a donation, which will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a breast cancer research foundation, and be able to walk around the .75-mile oval with participating drivers.

Those who wish to participate can register online at nascar.com/foundation or can register on site at either the expo area or Gate 46, where the walkers are scheduled to meet before taking to the track.


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Traffic problem spots run through Cordova

Wherever a traffic accident occurs, there is often more than enough blame to go around.

"In the majority of cases, two people are at fault and it's our job to find out which one was more at fault," said Lt. Phil Rosser of the Memphis Police Department's Traffic Division.

The blame, however, also extends to high-incident intersections, such as four problem spots on Germantown Parkway.Of the 20 Memphis intersections with the highest number of crashes, four are along the Cordova stretch of roadway, according to accident data compiled by police from 2006 through June of this year. More than 1,000 accidents occurred at the intersections of Germantown Parkway at Trinity, Cordova Road, Dexter and U.S. 64 during the 2 1/2 year time period tracked.

Police used the data to determine at which intersections to place red-light cameras.

Each day, 60,000 to 85,000 vehicles travel Germantown Parkway, according to city traffic engineer Richard Merrill. But Merrill does not look to place blame on either the road or drivers.

"We don't look at it in those terms," Merrill said. "We look at it terms of if there's a problem let's see what we can do to fix it."

Widening Germantown Parkway might be a long-term improvement, but would be very expensive and time and labor intensive. The installation of the red-light cameras, which began on Oct. 14 on Germantown Parkway with northbound, southbound and westbound cameras at Germantown and Trinity, is perhaps an immediate way to reduce the number of accidents.

From 1994-2005, New York City's Red Light Camera Program resulted in a 72 percent reduction in red-light violations and a 41 percent decrease in collisions, said Jason Norton, a senior manager with St. Louis-based American Traffic Solutions, the company that Memphis has contracted with for its red-light project.

"We test every direction at an intersection and that determines where a camera is installed," Norton said. "Just because an intersection is dangerous, that doesn't mean you have a red-light problem or a problem from every direction."



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Car Crashes Through Memphis Head Start Center

 "Voooom and boom, it hit the building," said mother April Walls recalls the sounds as she watched this car crash through this wall.

"All of the sudden this car it was parked and then all of the sudden, the car just revved up and drove through the building," added Walls.

The Chevy came so fast from this parking spot only 50 yards away, that it not only crashed through one, but two walls in this head start center. The Headstart program walls, computers and furniture for preschoolers. All ruined.

It was frightening to watch for walls. Her three year Ja'Mya attends school here and she is a volunteer.

"All the bricks and everything just fell down, and one of the guys just got out the car and then they just started backing up and parked right there," said Walls.

Directors say this happened at the busiest time of the day, when parents are dropping off their kids and volunteers are standing outside. They say it's amazing that a kid wasn't standing in front of the wall. "All of the children were removed, at the time we had a 117 children in the building and the staff followed everything perfectly," said Sean Lee from the Head Start program.

Why this car came barreling through the wall remains a mystery. Police say the driver is facing charges of reckless driving, driving with a revoked license and no insurance. While school officials wait on repairs, the building is being boarded up for security purposes.

"Well over a million dollars, it's really state of the art and it s beautiful building and its really unfortunate to see," said Lee.

They say this is a lesson for all parents...to take it slow.

"A lot of parents get offended but we are not out here to offend any parents but we are just out here for the concern, the concern of the safety for out children," added Walls.

School officials say they will have to raise money for any damage that insurance does not cover. Despite all of the problems today, school went on.


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Keselowski prevails in crash-filled Nationwide race at Memphis

Brad Keselowski held off a furious charge from Kyle Busch on the final lap to win Saturday's Kroger On Track For The Cure 250 Nationwide Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Matt Kenseth got into the back of Steve Wallace and put Wallace into a spin in the closing laps, which set up a green-white-checkered finish. As Keselowski and Busch headed to the finish line, Busch moved to the inside of Keselowski and bumped into him. Keselowski managed to hold on and cross the line 0.090 ahead of Busch for the win.

"It felt like I was getting nudged all the way around," Keselowski said. "The tires were so loose."

Keselowski, who's heading to the Sprint Cup Series next year to drive the No.12 Dodge for Penske Racing, picked up his fourth victory of the season and the sixth of his Nationwide career.

His aggressive driving on the 0.75-mile track led to several incidents, including one with Carl Edwards in the closing laps.

"That's short track racing," Keselowski said. "I got into the back of Carl and that was the one I feel worse about. I didn't know he was going to make that move."

Keselowski received a $25,000 bonus from series title sponsor Nationwide Insurance for winning the fourth and final "Dash 4 Cash" event in the inaugural year of the bonus program. He also collected a $50,000 award from the insurance company for accumulating the most points during the four races.

Busch's second-place finish allowed him to pad his lead to 215 points over Edwards with just three races to go.

"I should be happy with what we had here with a second-place finish," Busch said. "We didn't have the car that shouldn't have finished in the top-10, but I broke another record and lost a lot of money today."

Edwards rebounded nicely from his spin to finish sixth.

"I hope it was just a racing deal," Edwards said. "I like Brad a lot. He was probably out there thinking, 'hey, I'm going to wreck him.' But he probably didn't give me the space either."

Jason Leffler, Mike Bliss and rookie Brendan Gaughan completed the top-five.

Scott Wimmer finished seventh, followed by David Reutimann, Stephen Leicht and Landon Cassill, who made his first series start since October 2008 at Phoenix. Cassill won rookie-of-the-year honors on the circuit last year.

The race featured 14 cautions, including one for a horrifying crash that involved Eric McClure. Michael McDowell hit McClure from behind, sending him hard into the wall.

McClure was not injured, but needed assistance while exiting his battered car.

"I'm a little bit sore, but I think I'll be okay," McClure said.



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Brad Keselowski Wins $75,000 in Nationwide Insurance’s Dash 4 Cash

The exciting finish of the US Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway was even sweeter for winner Brad Keselowski - $75,000 sweeter – thanks to Nationwide Insurance’s Dash 4 Cash bonus.

Joey Logano won the first two Dash 4 Cash races at Nashville Superspeedway and Kentucky Speedway. Logano is not running a full schedule in the series this year and is ineligible to win the bonus. By winning at Kentucky, Logano made sure the bonus would be worth $75,000 for the race at Iowa Speedway.
“Congratulations to Brad Keselowski,” said Jennifer Hanley, Senior Vice President of Marketing Services for Nationwide Insurance. “NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers and teams are among the best in the world and we’re proud to present him with a $75,000 bonus tonight.”

Nationwide Insurance’s Dash 4 Cash a first-of-its-kind bonus program for the NASCAR Nationwide Series implemented by Nationwide, NASCAR and ESPN focused around four stand-alone races in Nashville, Kentucky, Iowa and Memphis.

The program is open to all NASCAR Nationwide Series regulars and up-and-comers, including those who may not have a full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series ride. NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers with a full time ride in NASCAR Sprint Cup must enter every NASCAR Nationwide Series event in order to qualify for the cash payouts.

At the end of the four races, the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver with the highest number of cumulative points from these four events will be awarded an addition


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Flooding Leaves Mess In East Memphis Complex

But last night, her car took a ride she wasn't expecting. "It was floating in the water, it was full of water."

Flooding from a storm Tuesday night caused her car to float from its parking spot to a curb feet away. It was next to a pile of cars that landed on top of each other.

"I came outside and my car was gone. I just thought it was stolen and I looked and it was in that pile over there," said resident Mark Forbes.

Flood lines on the cars' rear view mirrors illustrated how high the water got, and it wasn't just outside. In some apartments, there was about a foot of water.

Residents say it all happened in about 15 minutes. They also tell us this is not the first time this part of the Poplar Place Apartments has flooded.

Residents are not only trying to figure out what's next, but how to prevent this from happening again.

"Why does my insurance have to be affected for something that could have been prevented," added White- Murrell.

During the storm last night, some of them got out and removed debris from drains to stop the flooding. The City of Memphis says the drain is management's responsibility to maintain.

The property owner, GMH Capital Partners, told us on the phone this was "an act of god" and they've only owned the property for a year and a half. GMH Capital Partners say they will help the residents get back to normal.

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Is Memphis to blame for your back pains? – Stop chronic back affliction

Chronic back pain is second only to headaches when it comes to neurological pains that prevent people from doing what they want and need to do.
Can living in the Bluff city really be responsible for your back pains?
These are poor lifestyle choices that do attribute to chronic back pains along with numerous other conditions and diseases. But for the most common, “unknown cause” chronic back pains, living in Memphis isn’t the real culprit.


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Car Thefts Decline in Memphis

MEMPHIS, TN - Early numbers show a surprising drop in car thefts in the Mid-South.
The FBI says the number of stolen cars in the US is down nearly 15%, but the decrease in the City of Memphis is even more impressive.

Almost 800 fewer cars have been stolen in Memphis compared to last year. Don't feel relieved just yet, however, certain types of cars are more likely to be stolen, and there are steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau calls them "Hot Wheels." They're the rides most often reported stolen.
Topping the list for 2008: the 1994 Honda Accord, followed by the 1995 Honda Civic, the 1989 Toyota Camry, the 1997 Ford F-150 Pickup and the 2004 Dodge Ram Pickup.
Memphis Police Department Director Larry Godwin says it's the same story here in the Mid-South.

"When an individual steals a car and goes and commits a crime,” Godwin says. “You have to understand that's what they're doing. They want a car that's going to be less conspicuous. They know they can get out there and they can blend in."

That's why these popular models also catch the eyes of crooks.
Fewer cars are being stolen, however. Godwin says car thefts in Memphis are down more than 23.5% compared to last year.

"Auto thefts are down in Memphis,” he said. “But I think that it's still a problem that we face every year, between auto thefts and auto break ins."
But he thinks programs in place to cut down on these crimes are working.

Godwin says he can't specifically name areas where numbers of car break-ins and thefts are high, because these criminals are very mobile. He says people need to do their part to protect their things.

"Number 1, don't leave your keys in the car,” he said. “Number 2, lock your vehicle, secure everything in there. Don't leave packages, don't do all the things we tell you not to. Stow it, don't show it. Don't give them a reason to get in that car."
If you want to learn about how bad the stolen car numbers are where you live, we have an easy way for you to do it. For real time crime updates - that means updated to the minute - just head to the home page of our website Myeyewitnessnews.com and click on "Spot Crime" on the left-hand side.


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To Gain Experience, Working for Free

I first heard about prelancing, or pre-compensation freelancing, from a San Francisco start-up. As a means of publicizing their salary data website, JobNob.com came up with a happy hour concept wherein job searchers are paired with Valley start-ups willing to trade a few drinks and a reference for a few hours of work utilizing the searcher’s skill set. I showed up and was slack jawed looking at a line that stretched out the door and down a full city block.
A few weeks after the event, my recruiter contacted me to inquire whether I’d be willing to perform some pro-bono consulting work for a local customer image strategy house. I knew that a new phenomenon had been born.
The prelancing concept is as follows: Firms have plenty of work to do, but a low ability or willingness to pay. Job searchers have extra time on their hands and a need for a reference and/or a little hope. Job searchers work for a few hours per week for free at the firm in question, in exchange for a solid reference and the possibility that improvement in the economy will put them first in line for the firm’s hiring needs. Prelancing is a bit like an internship for the well-qualified, and it is a byproduct of the challenging times we’re facing here in the Silicon Valley.
This fascinates me and raises a myriad of questions. Is this merely a sign of the times or is it a sign of the future? As I must balance time spent on unpaid work with time spent finding paid work, how can I quantify the best prelancing opportunities? On a related note, as Uncle Sam requires those accepting unemployment benefits to be “actively seeking work” where is the line drawn between seeking and working? (For the record, I’m performing all of my prelancing after hours!)
Of the three prelancing offers I’ve received, I’ve accepted two of them. I have committed to donating five hours of work per week to each of these companies, even though neither of them have any impending plans to hire. My first project is for a start-up in the data center hardware space. My second is for JobNob, the web start-up that organized the happy hour. Shortly after the happy hour, they called to inquire if I’d be interested in prelancing for them.
As I’m shifting career paths from financial analysis to online marketing analysis, I’m eager to bolster my résumé with this experience. There is an additional benefit, however. It’s fantastic to feel that I’m creating positive change where it is needed. Compensation is of course vital and highly desired, but in its temporary absence I am enjoying contributing to great companies and having my talents appreciated.

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