Catchfence

After Ron Hornaday Jr. celebrated his 51st birthday by winning Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck series race at the Milwaukee Mile, he opted not to do a victory burnout. Tire-smoking celebrations have become commonplace in recent years, but now they’re a luxury his team just can’t afford.

Welcome to life in NASCAR after General Motors cutbacks.

“We’re saving dimes right now,” Hornaday said.

Burnouts might be a fun way to show off for the crowd, but dumping the clutch and letting the wheels spin wildly also is a good way to damage a driveshaft.

And now that GM has cut back funding to its NASCAR teams across the board, including the Chevrolet team Hornaday drives for, any potential cost-saving measure has to be looked at — even the way drivers celebrate wins.

- Detroit Free Press