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Lackawanna County restaurant inspections: July 14 - 21

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American Grill walk for Candy’s Place raises funds for cancer patients

<p>LONG POND &#8212; Right before the turn off Route 115 that leads to Pocono Raceway, Ricky Swanson waves a black and white checkered Sunoco flag.</p><p>The Blakeslee resident is standing at the entrance to one of the vendor lots set up along the route, where merchandise haulers set up tents with everything NASCAR a fan could dream of - hats, jackets, collectible cars and figurines, to name just a few of the items.</p><p>Sitting in a camping chair behind a table with an array of tie-dye shirts that read &#8220;Pocono Raceway 2016,&#8221; Rudy Burnett sips on his morning coffee as he speaks with customers in search of their favorite driver&#8217;s merchandise.</p><p>&#8220;In fact, the people of the South - which is where most of the drivers are also from - we&#8217;ve had 19 straight days of over 100-degree heat, so we like to come up here to cool off,&#8221; Burnett said in his mellow, southern drawl, blissfully unaware that Pennsylvania has been in the midst of what we call a &#8220;heat wave.&#8221;</p><p>Burnett is an independent NASCAR vendor, traveling the circuit from his hometown in South Carolina for the past 22 years. He&#8217;s been making the 713-mile trek to Pocono for the last 12 years, hauling his wares in a 26-foot box truck from state to state, racetrack to racetrack, for the sport-adoring fans.</p><p>A self-proclaimed NASCAR fan himself, Burnett said he got the idea to become a vendor with his father.</p><p>&#8220;It started with my dad and me selling out of the back of my wife&#8217;s minivan,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve come a long way.&#8221;</p><p>Most vendors said it takes about a day to set up shop, and about half a day to tear it all down. Some - such as Burnett - stay in a local hotel overnight, but most rely on a trailer or RV to house them instead.</p><p>In all, about 15 independent vendors filled three separate lots Saturday, waiting for race fans to come trickling in for this weekend&#8217;s Pocono 400, which was postponed from Sunday to Monday because of rain. Many of the vendors were stocked up on items relating to Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, who is currently driving his final season before retiring.</p><p>The vendors agreed that driver&#8217;s decisions affect their business.</p><p>While many vendors have noted that sales of Gordon and Stewart have gone up this year, Burnett expects to see about a 15 percent drop in revenue after Stewart retires from racing.</p><p>And that&#8217;s on top of what the independent vendors are calling a bad year - or years.</p><p>Last year, NASCAR launched it&#8217;s new &#8220;Trackside Superstore,&#8221; managed by Fanatics Authentic. According to a news story from NARCAR in 2015, the stores boast 2.5 million items in inventory, more product variance and shorter checkout lines. These stores now grace all NASCAR tracks and, with the exception of a few private haulers (such as Team Penske and Brad Keselowski), Fanatics is the sole merchandise seller inside the track.</p><p>The times of independent vendors being able to sell inside the tracks are now over, and those who haven&#8217;t closed shop have been allegedly pushed to the outskirts. Some vendors disclosed that they were involved in a lawsuit with NASCAR, but wouldn&#8217;t comment further on the matter. A NARCAR representative could not immediately be reached for comment for this story.</p><p>Ed Sugg, a 19-year vendor hailing from Birmingham, Alabama, sorted shirts on a rack as he spoke about his year.</p><p>A bit of a joker, Sugg smiled and laughed as he reminisced on the years of racing, his patriotic hard hat glaring in the sun.</p><p>Then it got serious.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really changed over the years,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Sugg explained that every lot used to be filled with about fifteen vendors - now there&#8217;s only fifteen total. He also noted a declining fanbase and been hurting those who have decided to stick it out.</p><p>&#8220;NARCAR is going down. There was less than 50,000 at Indy. New Hampshire - half the seats were empty,&#8221; he said.</p><p>He also added that new rules regarding fan&#8217;s re-entry into the track have angered both spectators and vendors, alike.</p><p>Sugg said that NASCAR implemented a new rule, requiring fans to pay a fee if they leave the track and wish to re-enter - whether they have a ticket or not. This means that if someone wanted to go back to their car, or go outside of the track to shop the independent vendors, they would need to put up the cash to get back into the race.</p><p>&#8220;The track don&#8217;t want us here, they don&#8217;t want people to be able to shop us anymore,&#8221; Sugg said.</p><p>Both Burnett and Sugg explained that selling is their full-time job and primary source of income - just like many of the others.</p><p>&#8220;I took an early retirement, I wanted to do something fun,&#8221; Sugg said.</p><p>But if the numbers keep coming in low, Sugg and many others may be forced to make the decision to close up shop.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Rudy Burnett, of South Carolina, sits under his tent along Route 115 waiting for NASCAR fans to browse through - and hopefully purchase - some merchandise. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_vendors1_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Rudy Burnett, of South Carolina, sits under his tent along Route 115 waiting for NASCAR fans to browse through - and hopefully purchase - some merchandise. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_vendors6_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ed Sugg, of Alabama, stands outside his tent of NASCAR merchandise. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_vendors6_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ed Sugg, of Alabama, stands outside his tent of NASCAR merchandise. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_vendors5_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Helmets are among the NASCAR merchandise under a vendor tent. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_vendors5_faa.jpg</photo2><caption2>Helmets are among the NASCAR merchandise under a vendor tent. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_vendors4_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">NASCAR fans browse through merchandise inside a vendor tent along Route 115 outside Pocono Raceway. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_vendors4_faa.jpg</photo3><caption3>NASCAR fans browse through merchandise inside a vendor tent along Route 115 outside Pocono Raceway. </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_vendors2_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jim Taylor, of North Carolina, sits under his vendor tent along as customer trickle in and out. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_vendors2_faa.jpg</photo4><caption4>Jim Taylor, of North Carolina, sits under his vendor tent along as customer trickle in and out. </caption4><photoCredit4>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_vendors3_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ricky Swanson, of Blakesley, stands along state Route 115 Saturday, waving a checked flag to attract customers into a vendors lot in Long Pond near Pocono Raceway. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_vendors3_faa.jpg</photo5><caption5>Ricky Swanson, of Blakesley, stands along state Route 115 Saturday, waving a checked flag to attract customers into a vendors lot in Long Pond near Pocono Raceway. </caption5><photoCredit5>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

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