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"Funny" story: DC Solar was a big sponsor of NASCAR in multiple series. Ross Chastain, an amazing driver who was a watermelon farmer, was finally getting his b

"Funny" story: DC Solar was a big sponsor of NASCAR in multiple series. Ross Chastain, an amazing driver who was a watermelon farmer, was finally getting his big break and going to a very good car with full season sponsorship from DC Solar. (Most drivers in order to succeed need some kind of sponsorship connection and this was one of those amazing talents with few connections guys so fans were super excited). Literally within a few weeks of the announcement of sponsorship came the news that DC Solar had been raided by the FBI and the sponsorship was off. Ross Chastain is back running subpar equipment sponsored by his family's watermelon farm business.

themodelplumber 7y ago
Sad. Can the HN community sponsor a car. Crazy idea maybe but we are not known for messing around.
- bsagdiyev 7y ago
  That would be interesting to see. I'll pledge $1k right now, I'd like to see something like this get off the ground.
  - bsagdiyev 7y ago
    Well since I rustled jimmies, I'll add another $2k for the two people who downvoted me. I'm pledging $3k now.
- frosted-flakes 7y ago
  What would the HN community get out of it? If nothing but the feels, then that's called donating.
- jdhn 7y ago
  I feel like HN is filled with people who couldn't care less about NASCAR. That being said, crowdfunding racers isn't out of the question, look at Josh Wise and the Dogecoin car.
- stingraycharles 7y ago
  As you can tell by the reactions, HN is not Reddit. Perhaps make a post over there, they’re most likely more receptive to this story.
  - cgy1 7y ago
    The r/NASCAR subreddit is quite a fan of Ross. I wouldn't be surprised if they already had something going.
- brookside 7y ago
  Nascar, to me, is a celebration of pointless CO2 emissions. It is literally people driving around in a circle in last-century technology, mainly as an advertising platform for selling inefficient non-race vehicles. We can do better in 2019, and I'd personally be ok if the whole sport shuttered, not just one team.
  - js2 7y ago
    > Nascar, to me, is a celebration of pointless CO2 emissions. Doesn’t have to be. It could be a celebration of pointless conversion of electric energy into mechanical energy!
  - keithwarren 7y ago
    The engineering and technical prowess of a NASCAR team would absolutely astonish you, it is hardly as you describe. I work closely with people in racing and am constantly amazed at what they are doing.
  - lucasmullens 7y ago
    The entertainment provided per amount of CO2 is probably better than lots of other forms of entertainment, since there's thousands watching only dozens of cars. Like I'm sure skydiving or going on a cruise is worse for the environment per person.
  - clouddrover 7y ago
    > driving around in a circle in last-century technology As a criticism I think this lacks perspective. Presumably you want them to be driving electric cars in a circle. Electric cars are 19th century technology: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/electric-car-timeline.html http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/electric-car-timeline.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicl... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-02/the-history-birth-death-resurrection-of-the-electric-car/11053928 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-02/the-history-birth-dea... Formula E is good. It's improving year by year and the Gen2 car is a clear improvement over the Gen1 car. You can watch past races on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/FIAFormulaE https://www.youtube.com/user/FIAFormulaE But let's not kid ourselves. Formula E is not yet at the level of Formula 1.
- joncrane 7y ago
  Nice thought but it's not just money. Motorsport is it's own world and you have to participate more than just throwing money at something. Secondly, the Venn diagram of NASCAR fans and HN readers shows very little overlap. I am a fan but I don't pretend to think people upvoted me because I mentioned NASCAR. It's because I validated their negative feelings towards DC Solar by giving another example. Maybe bonus points for the quaintness of a family Watermelon farming business sponsoring the scion's racing career.
  - keithwarren 7y ago
    The best part about Chastain is his amazing ability to take sub par equipment and be competitive with it, he is a rising star for sure

themodelplumber 7y ago

Sad. Can the HN community sponsor a car. Crazy idea maybe but we are not known for messing around.

bsagdiyev 7y ago
That would be interesting to see. I'll pledge $1k right now, I'd like to see something like this get off the ground.
- bsagdiyev 7y ago
  Well since I rustled jimmies, I'll add another $2k for the two people who downvoted me. I'm pledging $3k now.
frosted-flakes 7y ago
What would the HN community get out of it? If nothing but the feels, then that's called donating.
jdhn 7y ago
I feel like HN is filled with people who couldn't care less about NASCAR. That being said, crowdfunding racers isn't out of the question, look at Josh Wise and the Dogecoin car.
stingraycharles 7y ago
As you can tell by the reactions, HN is not Reddit. Perhaps make a post over there, they’re most likely more receptive to this story.
- cgy1 7y ago
  The r/NASCAR subreddit is quite a fan of Ross. I wouldn't be surprised if they already had something going.
brookside 7y ago
Nascar, to me, is a celebration of pointless CO2 emissions. It is literally people driving around in a circle in last-century technology, mainly as an advertising platform for selling inefficient non-race vehicles. We can do better in 2019, and I'd personally be ok if the whole sport shuttered, not just one team.
- js2 7y ago
  > Nascar, to me, is a celebration of pointless CO2 emissions. Doesn’t have to be. It could be a celebration of pointless conversion of electric energy into mechanical energy!
- keithwarren 7y ago
  The engineering and technical prowess of a NASCAR team would absolutely astonish you, it is hardly as you describe. I work closely with people in racing and am constantly amazed at what they are doing.
- lucasmullens 7y ago
  The entertainment provided per amount of CO2 is probably better than lots of other forms of entertainment, since there's thousands watching only dozens of cars. Like I'm sure skydiving or going on a cruise is worse for the environment per person.
- clouddrover 7y ago
  > driving around in a circle in last-century technology As a criticism I think this lacks perspective. Presumably you want them to be driving electric cars in a circle. Electric cars are 19th century technology: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/electric-car-timeline.html http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/electric-car-timeline.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicl... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-02/the-history-birth-death-resurrection-of-the-electric-car/11053928 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-02/the-history-birth-dea... Formula E is good. It's improving year by year and the Gen2 car is a clear improvement over the Gen1 car. You can watch past races on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/FIAFormulaE https://www.youtube.com/user/FIAFormulaE But let's not kid ourselves. Formula E is not yet at the level of Formula 1.
joncrane 7y ago
Nice thought but it's not just money. Motorsport is it's own world and you have to participate more than just throwing money at something. Secondly, the Venn diagram of NASCAR fans and HN readers shows very little overlap. I am a fan but I don't pretend to think people upvoted me because I mentioned NASCAR. It's because I validated their negative feelings towards DC Solar by giving another example. Maybe bonus points for the quaintness of a family Watermelon farming business sponsoring the scion's racing career.
- keithwarren 7y ago
  The best part about Chastain is his amazing ability to take sub par equipment and be competitive with it, he is a rising star for sure