plus 500 – Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona 50th Anniversary: 50 Facts and Milestones

7. One of the most amazing tales ever from Daytona’s sports-car race occurred in 1963, when Marvin Panch, who already had won a Daytona 500, was practicing in Briggs Cunningham’s Birdcage Maserati and something broke. The car flipped, caught fire, and landed wheels up with Panch trapped underneath. NASCAR journeyman driver Tiny Lund—so named for his enormous size—ran to the car and freed Panch. Even so, Panch was too badly injured to drive in the Daytona 500 a few weeks later, and asked his team, the Wood Brothers, if they would give the ride to the winless Lund. They did, and Lund won the Daytona 500. Lund was later killed in a crash in 1975.

plus 500 – ROW AS LIB DEMS PLAN TO CHARGE £500 TO HAVE MEALS WITH MINISTERS
Independent MSP Margo MacDonald said: “My first instinct is to wonder how many people in Inverness are daft enough or drunk enough to want to meet that crew. “Don’t we have laws against this sort of thing? “Just because other parties do it, it’s no excuse to offer access to ministers in this way. This definitely has a whiff of cash for access about it.”  Local business leaders pointed out that £500, plus VAT, is beyond the means of many of the small firms that play an important part in the region’s economy. Hamish Fraser, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses for the Highlands and Islands, said: “Five hundred pounds is obviously too steep for the overwhelming majority of small businesses in the Highlands and Islands. “We hope that the deputy prime minister and other senior Liberal Democrats will not miss this golden opportunity to talk to small businesses in the region about the issues that really matter to them, such as the price of fuel, delivery charges, the future of Royal Mail delivery services, VAT on tourism businesses, road equivalent tariff and superfast broadband access.” A Lib Dem spokeswoman pointed out that the SNP staged a Corporate Day at its Inverness conference last October, also charging £500. She said that thee event, being held at Eden Court in Inverness, would not make a profit and the charge was there to cover costs. She added: “There is nothing unusual in political parties covering the costs of putting on events and allowing business leaders to talk to key decision makers.” Earlier this month, a Conservative fundraiser quit the party after being caught bragging that he could get David Cameron’s mobile number for £10,000. Businessman Rickie Sehgal was caught on tape claiming donors could dine with the PM to ask questions. In February 2010, cash for access in the form of auctioning meals with senior politicians was outlawed by Holyrood authorities. In an embarrassing ruling for the First Minister, Alex Salmond and his deputy Nicola Sturgeon effectively lost their case for hosting lunches at Holyrood as party fund-raisers. But the Scottish Parliamentary standards commissioner later threw out claims that they broke ministerial rules by auctioning two lunches at Holyrood for £11,000.