NASCAR may let fans stay forever:

[TheOldProgrammer]

Are you $hitting me?


NASCAR fans who consider Daytona International Speedway their home away from home could soon make it their final resting place, too -- albeit less quiet and peaceful than a traditional cemetery. Legislation making its way through the Florida House and Senate would allow construction of an on-site columbarium -- a building or structure that houses urns -- at both Daytona International Speedway and Homestead Miami Speedway. International Speedway Corp. spokesman Lenny Santiago said many NASCAR fans have inquired over the years about having their ashes laid to rest at Daytona International Speedway. "We have a lot of fans that are very, very loyal to NASCAR races and to Daytona in general," Santiago said. "This opens that door, this bill, and we're hopeful that this will get passed." If it passes, the bill would become law July 1. It has been approved by two House committees and has its first Senate committee hearing today. Daytona International Speedway doesn't have a proposed location for the structure yet or any timeline for building it until the bill passes, Santiago said, although it would be somewhere public that fans would be able to see. He also said he didn't know what kind of fees the Speedway might charge to fans looking to place their ashes there.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(3-29-2011)
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[TheOldProgrammer]

Racing fans who might have dreamed of making the Daytona International Speedway their eternal home had their hopes dashed Tuesday as a Florida Senate committee voted down a bill that would have made those dreams possible. The Senate Committee on Regulated Industries rejected the bill by a 5-7 vote, which would have allowed columbariums to be built at both Daytona International Speedway and Homestead Miami Speedway. Columbariums are buildings that house urns. The state House companion bill had already passed two committees and was scheduled for its third and final committee hearing Thursday. "I just felt very strongly that to have people's remains, cremated remains, at the same place where there's NASCAR racing and a motorsports entertainment complex was not appropriate," said state Sen. Maria Lorts Sachs, D-Delray Beach, the committee's vice chairwoman. "A lot of that has to do with the fact that I love NASCAR, and I love Daytona, and I didn't want it to turn into a partial cemetery."(Daytona Beach News Journal)(3-30-2011)
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