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Just wanted to update the situation with Rizzo Ford in North Providence. Demolition was underway earlier this week on one of the buildings ... looks like Lowe's will be there before long.

This is great news and I'm certainly interested to see the Colt Museum and the potential that it has.

Perhaps it is an issue with the planning board. The Roman Deli/Mangiarelli's were supposed to move near the Burlington Coat Factory and the Panera Bread would be built on their former site. The Super Walmart, Sam's Club, Sleepy's, WorkNGear and movie theater still haven't been built. As I drive by it daily ... don't see any work of progress. Maybe all of the aforementioned would-be developments are dead. We need an exit to the plaza and the expansion of the road. My commute to Providence is hindered by the traffic infrastructure inadequacies of Atwood Ave. if I hit it at the wrong time.

North Providence, RI "Let's Build Something Together" Again? On Mineral Spring Avenue, the former Rizzo Ford dealership may see some development on site to reuse the property for a Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. While I wouldn't mind it in the sense that it is close to the section of Providence I'm regularly in, there should be some considerations. There is already a Home Depot - which replaced a former mill property - in the north section of Providence, near the N. Providence line. Mineral Spring Ave. is often plagued with traffic issues. Lowe's are currently located in Seekonk and Warwick. Home Depot has three locations within 15 minutes of where I live - Johnston (Rt. 5), Smithfield (Rt. 44) and in Cranston near Garden City. While I recognize the importance to develop this sizeable property, does it have to be another big box? Out of curiosity, does anyone know how the town meeting went regarding this project?

Johnston Frozen Project? There appears to be limited progress in Johnston where the new Home Depot plaza is on Atwood Ave. There are still places available for lease and the Phase II part does not appear to be in the near future, unfortunately. Golden Arches Relocating? Almost across the street from that plaza, the former Mario's Showplace was demolished in August and supposedly will be home to a new McDonalds. Logically, one would think that this would open up the current McDonalds plot on Hartford Ave, which already has a Burger King, Wendys, Tim Hortons, among others on the same road. This should also generate more traffic for that particuar McDonalds as it is closer to the highway exit off Rt. 6, for whatever that is worth. Another Gas Station? Across from town hall, the former Mobil Station has seen construction work recently some of the concrete pads near the gas pumps. The town could use another gas station and I wouldn't mind seeing it be converted to another brand. Texaco/Citgo and Sunoco, at one time were available on Atwood Ave. Perhaps Hess, who has been expanding in the area recently, could take over.

I read a message on the Speed boards that Tony Stewart & Home Depot are bolting to the DEI #8 over the move by Gibbs to Toyota. That would certainly shake things up if it happened. We'll see.

To borrow a phrase from a guy on ESPN's NASCAR piece on now, "I decry the new tracks because it seems that all the tracks I love are dying and the tracks I hate are multiplying. That sums it up for me.

This is true Tony. That Charlotte race with levigating was a nightmare. That original Bristol concrete race (although I wish they went back to asphalt along with Dover) ... they actually set up cones and had drivers run the high line in practice to try and build the outside groove. However, after reading about how the old track actually had less banking as you went up the corner, that would only exacerbate the issue of not being able to pass without bumping another driver. With more banking as the car goes up the track, this is similar/is progressive banking. Without seeing the track on TV I can't judge it. Fortunately, the Truck teams just finished testing there and gave it rave reviews. Actually, a new paved surface can be slightly more abrasive on tires. Given all this and the nature (plus proximity to the Chase) of the Bristol night race this one should be exciting for reasons other than who wrecked who.

I'm taking a wait and see attitude on Darlington. While an article I read on the the track claims it will be tamer with the new paving, the last repaving job doesn't have me convinced. The 1994 and 1996 Southern 500 each had 6 yellows. In between that, when the track had the new paving, the races had between 11-15 cautions. So it seems like the track is really tough getting a new handle on the track, but once it ages a little, like 2 years, the track should be back to normal.

I think some of the tracks like Michigan and Pocono having races so close together is poor on NASCAR's part. Its not like, at least in this case, the tracks have a ton of other series competing there like IndyCars, etc., like they did at one time. I also agree that some tracks should lose a date. The KY-MI switch is an interesting one. The ongoing problem I have with it is that new dates when they were available/distributed were not given to old tracks like Phoenix that have been on there awhile. Instead they went to boring, new tracks out West (ie: Fontana), which doesn't sit well with many fans. The roots of the sport, in tracks like Wilkesboro, Rockingham, Darlington were ripped out in favor of boring tracks that do not offer the same challenging and close racing. It just doesn't cut it for me to have the season-hype for Daytona change to Welcome to LA the next week. Since 1982, when Daytona became the season opener, Richmond and Rockingham alternated the second race for years. Now we're stuck without either of those tracks in the early part of the schedule, and Rockingham gone entirely - set to go on the auction block . I'm surprised that NASCAR hasn't considered mid-week races or 1 day shows to get 2 races in 1 weekend. This would allow more race dates on the schedule and allow different tracks on the schedule without the onslaught of lawsuits. I wouldn't mind seeing the Cup guys run a lot of places ... Pikes Peak in Colorado would be interesting along with Nazareth. However, I don't think either of those tracks are running anymore. The newest road course out west would be a challenge - Miller Motorsports Park in Utah . Why not get Wisconsion on there by running Milwaukee/Road America? Nashville has the superspeedway or their old cup track - Music City Motorplex. That and Memphis would add 2 new short tracks in the mix . I've got plenty of great ideas regarding what's wrong with NASCAR and how to fix it. Sadly, as long as Brian France and his minions see the almighty dollar to boost the stockholders of ISC and his own wallet with TV deals and the like, the sport will continue this downward spiral that has become noticed lately with the attendance and TV ratings dropping. There are plenty of options for tracks if ISC could be broken up via an antitrust lawsuit; or simply a matter of NASCAR taking a better look at the scheduling.

No problem, Tony. Florida has had different tracks over the year host the Busch-Cup cars. After the exciting finish this weekend at Gateway, I wish some of the stand-alone Busch tracks like St. Louis could get a Cup date, if NASCAR (even though there's no chance of it happnening) would limit most, if not all of the tracks to 1 Cup date.

The Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando hosted 2 NASCAR Craftsman Truck races in 1997 and '98, won by Joe Ruttman and Ron Hornaday, Jr., respectively. Orlando has never hosted a NASCAR Busch Series race. The new Orlando Grand Prix is rumored to be on the Champ Car World Series calendar for 2008. The last venture for CC in Florida occurred in 2003 when they competed in St. Petersburg in February and Miami in September.

True, but when the weather hit their strategy managed to put Gordon in victory lane. Had it fallen past like lap 114, Gordon's strategy was done as he needed to pit. If it was a little earlier, Edwards had the win. If Newman nosed ahead at that last scoring loop, he would have ended that winless drought. Glad to hear Pocono keeps its two races next year. I'll be at the one in early August. Albeit rain-shortened, what does everyone think of the TNT broadcast featuring Bill Webber, Wally Dallenbach and Kyle Petty? I must admit that it's tough without having Benny Parsons' distinctive voice helping broadcast the races. That being said, I think Kyle did a good jobi and some of the segments in the rain delay were enjoyable other than the standard driver interviews.

Nashville's plight has made the headlines of NASCAR's site. Article. Mark is doing outstanding this season and it is a testament to his talent with his first season in a long time in a Chevy, but equally important how he and the investment of Bobby Ginn in the race team have stepped up the entire program. My brother suggested that if Gibbs or RCR doesn't get Dale Jr., look for Ginn Racing to be the darkhorse canidate to get "Little E". After Mark's continued success and Regan Smith's impressive efforts thusfar, Ginn is making their mark this season.

Thanks for the reception guys. I was over in turn 1 at Monday's race and I was glad to see Martin win his first race. Stewart, undoubtedly is one of the most talented drivers out there, between USAC, dirt, IRL, NASCAR, you name it.

I have talked with some of the old-timers and some of the fans of that era from the AHL RI Reds and said that the AHL back in the day was really good because there were so few NHL teams. You had a lot of good players in the AHL their entire careers and it was tougher to get into the NHL due to the lack of teams. Imnot advocating slashing half the expansion teams off, by any means. Heck, the Boston Bruins an hour North of here have struggled as an organization for awhile, and as one of the original teams in the league and its "hockey friendly" geographic location, they aren't getting the job done in terms of fan turnout at the Garden. That being said, give the new teams a chance. I've read that some cities go in cycles as far as which season it is and for what sport. Depending on one's interest in the stick-and-ball sports compared to hockey, they may not afford (I'm a hockey fan but never been to an NHL game, for instance) or have the interest level to fork over $ for tickets. Plus the TV package the NHL currently has is a joke. Once the league straightens out its affairs in terms of the league's profile as well as its feasibility to be a stronger league with things like a TV package before teams are potentially put on the chopping block. Fix the league first before moving towards team realignment/contraction. Some of the new markets may not be ideal, but in order to be a national entity it is important to be in a growing market like Phoenix. Give them some time to have hockey grow in the cities. Winnepeg and Hartford were dumped for new markets in Phoenix and Denver, IIRC. Pittsburgh was saved from moving to Kansas City, which may be a good expansion or place to move, given the brand new arena, called the Sprint Center and with the history of being an important Midwest market that once had the KC Scouts in the 1970s. Hamilton and even sometimes Hartford have been floated as "new" places, but without a team to move (ie: Nashville being bought and the franchise moved to Hamilton) or Hartford getting a new arena for starters, the NHL and its team numbers should remain status quo. Congrats to Anaheim on the win.

Yes Kurt Busch should be parked for at least one race, if not more. Guys have received fines or parked in the case of Kevin Harvick for doing less than he did, although they were usually directed at another car entering the pits or retaliating with an on-track crash. He expressed his anger at Tony on pit lane, but he came close to injuring crew members on Tony's team. That is crossing a line of no return. Given his other issues in the past, ie: Jimmy Spencer at Michigan and Indy, or the drunk-driving incident when he was with Roush. Kurt (despite his less dwarfy ears for this season), unfortunately is less mature than I thought he was. He was showing some growth on how he handled Daytona and his brother wrecking him in the All-Star race. However, apparently that is not the case for this Las Vegas native. I know that Tony wasn't in the mood to give Kurt any advice on home improvement, the bottom line is these two former series champs raced hard and handled the circumstances poorly. Tony and Kurt are both not on my favorite list of drivers. Kurt and Tony can be jerks at times. Sometimes a test of a one's character comes when things don't go their way as opposed to when they like the way things are. If Tony/Kurt had a bone to pick with one another, they should settle it in the garage or back in the motorcoach lot. It is among the most egregious offenses when a driver decides to use their car as a weapon. Fortunately nobody was injured while Kurt showed his rage.

Nashville Fairgrounds Track Still With a Shaky Future This is an old Winston Cup track from the 1950s-1984. The track is currently leased by Joe Mattiolli, son of Doc & Rose who own Pocono Raceway. The track needs a new lease in order to continue and the fairgrounds board is evaluating options like a baseballl stadium or concert venue to replace the 100+ year track. The track has been on TV from a few of the Cup races (I have the May 1984 race won by Darrell Waltrip), as well as Busch Series, Craftsman Truck, ASA, and USAR Hooters Pro Cup. Basically, the track and its trademark guitars to winners are a part of Nashville culture and are well-known in racing. The track nowadays is a part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American (weekly) Series and hosts touring series like the CRA Super Late Models and is home to the annual All-American 400. Stars who have come through this track include Darrell Waltrip, CooCoo and Sterling Marlin, Bobby Hamilton, and more recently Chad Chaffin, Jeff Green and Jeremy Mayfield. Please help this track by submitting your suggestions here. 1984 race featuring Bobby Hamilton (to give you a look at the track currently)

Sounds good. I'd like to meet some of the UP folks here. I gotta catch up to some of you guys with thousands of posts when I'm not even at 50 yet. I've spent a lot of time browsing this forum and enjoyed the opinions and input from the great RI forum on this board.

Found more here: http://www.carpionatoproperties.com/brochu...Marketplace.pdf. This thing is also going to include: Walmart, Sam's Club, Panera Bread, Sleepy's, Petsmart, Office Depot and WorkNGear. That is huge and I cant wait for it to be done. However, they need to do some work on making sure the infrastructure can accomodate this, like an exit off the highway directly into the plaza, to divert traffic off of Rt. 5, Atwood Ave. As it stands now its a 2 lane road! With all that retail development, they need to make sure the road capacity -- or any changes ie: exits, additional entrances, etc. - made to it -- will be able to accomodate and better suit this massive project.

What are they building in the Johnston, RI shopping plaza? It used to be an old K-Mart. Now it has a Home Depot, Ruby Tuesday and Burlington Coat Factory. New buildings are being constructed next to the Burlington Coat Factory. Rumor has it that it is a Office Depot. But one smaller storre front, as far as I can tell, has the rooftop design on the front like it is for a Walmart or Lowe's? Can someone please shed some light on this? Thanks in advance.

I like those renderings and I am a history buff. So to have Pawtucket back and the old station work fine in my book. In addition, I think this will only bolster the state's hopes of viable alternatives to driving - (specifically train ie: Providence, Pawtucket, Warwick, etc.)