Soaring Gas Prices Have NASCAR Crying into Its Coors

Pity the poor pit lane petrol pumpers.

Like everyone else across North America and across the globe, NASCAR has to dig a little deeper to cover the cost of rising fuel prices.  Who'd a thunk fillin' up those 358-cubic-inch, V8 engines that get a cost-effective four miles to the gallon would put such a strain on the 'ol wallet?

It also isn’t cheap to fill up the 18-wheelers that lug around the stock cars.  What about the luxury trailers the drivers call home as they haul ass from track to track?  That'll cost ya' too!

It's the Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series cars that are feeling the biggest pinch 'cause the guys over in the SprintCup and Indycar teams have much deeper pockets. 

Still, it's hard to be sympathetic.

Over in Mason City, Iowa, the school district there is struggling to fill up its school buses because gas continues to go up.  It's not only costing them more to ensure the students get to school on the big yellow buses, it's also costing them more to get those kids the textbooks they need and the food they eat at lunch. 

Why? Because the trucking company that ships those items has to pay more for gas, too. 

To recover some of the cost, the school district is charging the kids more for food and canceling field trips and athletic events, depriving the children of valuable educational opportunities not to mention the benefit of sporting events that teach athletic skills, the value of teamwork, and a healthy lifestyle.  

In Louisville, Kentucky, the rising cost of gas is a big concern to the Transit Authority of River City.  It’s weighing its options, deciding on whether it’s going to have to increase fares, reduce service, or cut jobs. 

Either way, it’s a lose-lose-lose situation and one that is most likely affecting transit systems all across the continent. 

In Washington, DC, a convoy of trucks slithered through the streets to protest the soaring cost of diesel which hovers well over the $4 mark in the United States.  If you think that only affects the truckers, think again.  All your produce, your packaged goods, any product that can be shipped, is shipped by the big rigs. 

If companies are paying more for gas, that means all those products you love to buy — many of which are advertised on the hoods of stock cars — will cost you more. 

And so, the world's smallest violin plays for NASCAR as it gripes about the ballooning cost of gas, the bow gently crossing the strings despite the stock-car giant securing revenues second to only the NFL. 

In the end, NASCAR is just a bunch of heavily modified, gas guzzlin’ cars and trucks driving in a circle for hours until someone wins, burning up that very expensive gasoline for the sake of a trophy and a better sponsorship deal.

Perhaps those over at NASCAR complaining about fuel costs should consider approaching Shell or Imperial Oil, ask that they become sponsors and supply the team with the fuel they so desperately need. Unfortunately, not everybody has that luxury.

You can bet, however, school officials in Mason City, Iowa would happily have the logo of whatever gas company they so choose tattooed on to their bodies if it meant getting free gas for their buses, cheaper textbooks, and a field trip to the local museum for the kids.