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Lowriders to be celebrated in Fresno this weekend

The Valley's low-riding culture will be celebrated this weekend when the Fresno Grizzlies take the field as the Fresno Lowriders.

The once-heavily policed activity in Fresno is now in the sports spotlight.

Lowriders have certainly come a long way.

The car enthusiasts see their vehicles as works of art and the attention drawn through the ballgames will give the lowrider culture a much more positive image.

The Travel Team Car Club pours their heart, soul and cash into these tricked-out rides.

Rob Barajas has a sweet '63 Impala. He was surprised to hear about the Grizzlies plans to celebrate lowrider culture.

"It was an honor. It was an honor when they asked, We couldn't decline it," Barajas says.

Car clubs often involve generations of families interested in classic cars.

But there was a time lowriders were linked to gangs. Police established limits on when lowriders could cruise Kings Canyon.

"I remember that because I used to drive my car. It would be 3-4 four times a week I used to get pulled over because the wheels are too small, because the steering wheel being too small," says Juan Cienfuegos of Clovis.

The trunk of Juan's 72 Monte Carlo pays tribute to his family and heritage.

The process of moving past negative stereotypes has been slow and low.

"It's evolved. Now you have from lawyers to teachers to business owners that lowride," says Barajas.

Actor Dave Bautista is also a club member. He owns a '64 Impala.

On Saturday, Fulton between Merced and Mono will be shut down for a pre-game car show.

Jesse Beltran will have his 1939 Chevy truck out there.

"These vehicles that go out there to be shown take years sometimes. Lots of money. Those people are talented," Beltran says.

The Grizzlies were looking for another way to connect with the Latino community.

"We're going to start to create that awareness and that recognition here to where the lowriding scene gets out of the shadow of being affiliated with gangs or being something negative," Ray Ortiz, who organized the event, says.

Judges will select a Best in Show lowrider while Grizzlies' fans will vote for the People's Choice.

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Erik Jones set for 2025 return to Legacy Motor Club

Erik Jones is set to return to the No. 43 Toyota with Legacy Motor Club in 2025 after agreeing to a multiyear contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.

Jones has spent each of the past four seasons in the famed No. 43 car, joining in 2021 under different ownership at what was then known as Richard Petty Motorsports. The Michigan native is a three-time winner in NASCAR Cup Series competition, with two of those victories coming in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, a crown jewel on the NASCAR calendar for the toll it takes on both driver and vehicle.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | Erik Jones driver page

Team co-owner Maury Gallagher joined the team in 2022 with seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson‘s addition to the team ownership in 2023, rebranding the program to Legacy Motor Club.

“Erik Jones has been the consistent cornerstone of Legacy Motor Club’s driver lineup since Maury chose to enter NASCAR’s highly competitive Cup division,” Cal Wells III, CEO of Legacy Motor Club, said in a team release. “He’s a proven champion that, surrounded with the right team powered by Toyota, can and will compete for race wins against the very best on any given Sunday. Having personally known Erik for close to 14 years, I feel blessed he’s chosen to remain with the Club, and I’m looking forward to winning races with him at the helm of the iconic No. 43.”

In 276 Cup starts, Jones has accrued 37 top-five finishes and 89 top 10s in addition to his three victories, with two pole positions and 827 laps led. The No. 43 car has yet to lead a lap in 2024, but Jones has led at least one circuit in each season, including in his Cup debut with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015.

“I‘m looking forward to what we can build at Legacy Motor Club,” Jones said in a release. “I‘ve been with the No. 43 car for a handful of years and feel like I‘m coming into some of the best years of my career. I am hoping to grow alongside Legacy MC in the seasons to come.”

The 28-year-old missed two races this season after incurring a back injury in May at Talladega Superspeedway. Through 21 starts in 2024, Jones has one top-10 finish — eighth in the season-opening Daytona 500 — and ranks 28th in points with a season-long average finish of 22.5. His playoff hopes still remain, however, with races ahead at both Daytona International Speedway and Darlington Raceway before the playoffs, both tracks at which he has won.

“Erik is one of the most talented drivers in NASCAR,” Johnson said in a release. “I‘ve had the chance to race against him and have had a chance to watch him drive for other teams and the Club. I admire his talent and am glad we will have him race for us for the upcoming years. Erik will be a key to helping us turn our program around, and we look forward to giving him the tools he needs to go out on Sundays and race for wins and eventually a championship someday.”

Up next for Jones is Michigan International Speedway on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), where Jones has collected one top five and three top 10s in 11 starts.

MORE: Buy Michigan tickets | How to get notified for 2025 schedule release

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The Orient Express Is Bringing Its Luxury Train Tours to Italy

Bookings for the eight new itineraries have just opened., rachel cormack.

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Get ready to live the good life on a locomotive in Italy next year.

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La Dolce Vita will offer eight scenic itineraries across the European nation. The all-inclusive roundtrips depart from Rome before journeying to desirable destinations, such as Venice, Matera, Tuscany, Piedmont, Portofino, Abruzzo, and Sicily. The new routes collectively cover over 9,941 miles of track, running through 14 regions and 131 cities.

Labeled “Italy’s first luxury train,” La Dolce Vita pairs old-world Italian glamour with the finest modern amenities. The sumptuous interior is an ode to the craftsmanship of the 1960s and ‘70s. The 12 carriages host no more than 62 passengers at a time, creating a truly intimate travel experience. Accommodation includes 12 deluxe cabins, 18 suites, and one, suitably flashy La Dolce Vita Suite.

The train has gourmands covered, too. Michelin three-star chef Heinz Beck will oversee all the cuisine onboard, while Vinitaly will carefully pick the wines for each journey. The respective menus will, of course, showcase the best Italy has to offer.

You’ll live the good life, indeed.

Click here to see all the photos of La Dolce Vita.

Rachel Cormack is a digital editor at Robb Report. She cut her teeth writing for HuffPost, Concrete Playground, and several other online publications in Australia, before moving to New York at the…

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Fact-checking claims about Tim Walz’s military record

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz's military record has been under scrutiny since he was announced as Kamala Harris's running mate.

Historic accusations made by some veterans have been revived by his opposite number, Republican JD Vance, who himself served in the military.

Mr Vance says that Mr Walz intentionally avoided combat in Iraq by resigning shortly before his unit was deployed there, and that he has been dishonest about his role in the military.

We’ve looked into his record and the military service of Mr Vance.

Why did Walz retire from the military?

Mr Vance claimed: “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him.”

Several former National Guard colleagues have previously publicly voiced frustrations at Mr Walz’s decision to leave their unit before deployment to Iraq - but others have rejected assertions that he retired to avoid combat duty.

Mr Walz served for 24 years in the Army National Guard, a military force which is usually deployed within the US to respond to events such as natural disasters, but is also part of the US Army’s reserve.

In February 2005, while he was still in the National Guard, Mr Walz filed an application to run to be elected as a member of Congress from Minnesota.

The following month it was announced that there would be “a possible partial mobilisation of roughly 2,000 troops from the Minnesota National Guard” to Iraq within the next two years, according to a 2005 press release from Mr Walz’s congressional campaign.

In the statement, Mr Walz said: “I do not yet know if my artillery unit will be part of this mobilisation.”

He added: “I don’t want to speculate on what shape my campaign will take if I am deployed, but I have no plans to drop out of the race."

Mr Walz then retired from the National Guard in May 2005, which he later said was so he could focus fully on running for Congress.

It’s unclear exactly when he submitted his resignation notice. We’ve asked both the National Guard and the Harris campaign when this was.

His National Guard unit received orders to mobilise for Iraq in July 2005, and was sent there in March 2006, according to the battalion’s history page.

Did Walz ever experience combat?

Mr Vance also says Mr Walz made “dishonest” claims about serving in combat.

He referred to a video promoted by the Harris campaign of Mr Walz talking about gun control.

In the clip , from 2018, he said that he "carried weapons in war".

On 9 August, the Harris campaign issued a statement saying that “in making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke”.

Mr Walz went to Italy with the National Guard in 2003 as part of support for the US war in Afghanistan - but he was never deployed to an active war zone.

On 13 August, Mr Walz responded directly to his critics, recalling that he'd joined the National Guard aged 17: "I served for the next 24 years for the same reason all my brothers and sisters do, we love this country. Then in 2005 I felt the call of duty again, this time giving service to my country in the halls of Congress."

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Did he mislead about his rank.

The Trump campaign says Mr Walz “continues telling the lie that he retired as a Command Sergeant Major”.

His official biography on the Minnesota state website says “Command Sergeant Major Walz retired from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005.”

He did reach the rank of command sergeant major near the end of his service, but he officially retired one rank below as a master sergeant.

A national guard spokesperson told the BBC that “his rank reverted to master sergeant on May 15th, 2005, for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework at the US Army Sergeants Major Academy. He retired the following day.”

What's Vance's military record?

Mr Vance served for four years in the US Marine Corps.

He was deployed to Iraq for about six months in 2005 as a military journalist, although he didn't experience combat.

“I was lucky to escape any real fighting,” he said in his 2016 memoir.

He left the Marine Corps in 2007 as a corporal to attend Ohio State University.

This article, first published on 8 August, was updated to reflect a statement on 9 August from the Harris campaign on Mr Walz's comment that he carried weapons "in war". It was further updated to add a response on this issue from Mr Walz on 13 August.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

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53 Best Car Group Names (Curated & Ranked) + Generator

It isn’t known exactly when the first car club formed, but some that exist today were founded in the 1950s or even earlier! https://classiccarsofmichigan.com/our-history/ ' data-toggle="tooltip" data-html="true">[1] https://www.vscc.co.uk/page/history ' data-toggle="tooltip" data-html="true">[2]

Clearly, car modification and collecting have been a long-standing and passionate pastime for many.

Joining a car group can help you meet people with the same interests, learn more about your vehicle and others, show off your modifications, help others modify their cars, and even get special benefits like discounted maintenance. https://www.maseratiofnewportbeach.com/news-8-reasons-to-join-a-car-club/? ' data-toggle="tooltip" data-html="true">[3]

Names for car clubs can range from creative to humorous, depending on the vibe of the club members and the cars they love. Our list includes a range of choices.

You’ll also find tips to create your own car group name after our list below.

Car Group Names

BattleStreet Rampagers [4]

Steering Wheel Warriors

Stick Shifters [4]

Muddy Trailers [4]

Engine Association

The Rodfathers

The Rising Sun Chasers [4]

Strut Society

Drift Kings [5]

The Fender Flares

Speed Demons [4]

Brake Dancers [4]

The Wolfpack [4]

No Road Blocks [4]

The Shock Squad

Smokin' Axels [4]

Speedwagon Cruisers [4]

Aerodynamic Allstars

Savage Lowriders [4]

Burnt Rubber [4]

The Triple Clutchers [4]

Beyond City Limits [4]

Tokyo Drifters [4]

The Lux League

Too Furious (Never Too Fast)

The Clutch Collective

Trail Blazers

Asphalt Bandits

Race Rebels

Triple Clutch Crew

Shifting Gears

Motor Madness

Chrome Sweet Chrome [5]

Piston Posse

Torque Twisters

The Pedal Pushers

Silver Foxes [4]

Into The Wind

Wind on Wheels

Petal to the Metal

The Hood Ornaments

Gold Rims Group

Mechanix Matrix

Chrome Inc.

Victory Lap [5]

Street Dreams [5]

The Wheel Deal [5]

Modified Muscle

Rampage Road

Muddy Hub Caps

Boost Brigade

Interested in JDM cars specifically? We have the list of JDM car club and car crew names .

Car Club Name Generator

How to create a good car club name.

Create a good car club name using the following tips:

• Take suggestions on a name from each of the group members. The final choice can be put to a vote among the members. You can also get creative and combine several choices to make a unique option.
• Use your favorite cars as inspiration. Think about makes, models, colors, and modifications and create a name that will reflect your favorites.
• Choose a name that describes your club members. Come up with one word or a short phrase that collectively and accurately illustrates your club and its love of cars.
• Pick a group name that has nothing to do with cars. For a different twist, think of a group name that doesn’t have anything to do with cars. If your group has something in common besides cars you can use it for inspiration to create a one-of-a-kind car club name.
• https://classiccarsofmichigan.com/our-history/ [ ↩ ]
• https://www.vscc.co.uk/page/history [ ↩ ]
• https://www.maseratiofnewportbeach.com/news-8-reasons-to-join-a-car-club/? [ ↩ ]
• WheelZine, "48 Cool Car Club Name Ideas" [ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ]
• Team Group Names, "180+ Car Club Names" [ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ][ ↩ ]
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On the Road: Lowriders cruise into Fresno

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When it came to creating a new Copa de la Diversión identity, the Fresno Grizzlies went into cruise control. Over the course of two weekends this season, the Grizzlies honored the car culture of California's Central Valley by suiting up as the Lowriders de Fresno. The Triple-A Washington Nationals affiliate is

When it came to creating a new Copa de la Diversión identity, the Fresno Grizzlies went into cruise control.  Over the course of two weekends this season, the Grizzlies honored the car culture of California's Central Valley by suiting up as the Lowriders de Fresno. The Triple-A Washington Nationals affiliate is one of 72 teams participating in Copa de la Diversión, a nationwide Minor League Baseball initiative in which teams celebrate the culture of their Latino fanbase.

This writer, along with MiLB.com's Josh Jackson, was in attendance for the Grizzlies' second Lowriders Weekend, which took place July 27-28. Lowriders of all kinds were displayed on Chukchansi Park's plaza; highlights included July 27's suspension-testing "hopping contest" and a postgame concert by local Santana tribute band Heavy Weather.

Lowrider hopping contest at tonight’s @FresnoGrizzlies game! One of the coolest things I’ve ever seen at a @MiLB ballpark. pic.twitter.com/PutZ0TYEau — Benjamin Hill (@bensbiz) July 28, 2019

While it was exhilarating to see lowrider front ends bouncing 10 feet into the air, the second Lowriders weekend was a decidedly low-key affair when compared to the first. On June 15, the Grizzlies took over nearby Fulton Street with a lowrider car show featuring 120 customized, tricked-out, immaculately painted automobiles. The "People's Choice" award winner was John Munoz of Antioch, California. His car, a '63 Chevy Impala hardback named Tequila Sunrise, will be the featured automobile in the Grizzlies' 2020 Lowriders logo.

Tequila Sunrise, winner of the Lowriders' 2019 People's Choice Award. When the Grizzlies began brainstorming potential Copa de la Diversión identities, the first thing that came to mind was tacos. In 2015, capitalizing on the popularity of their long-running Taco Truck Throwdown promotion, the team started playing select dates as the Tacos. This endeavor kickstarted a trend throughout Minor League Baseball, in which teams adopt alternate identities based on popular regional food items. "One of the first ones we talked about initially was Luncheros," said Grizzles director of creative marketing Sam Hansen, referring to the original name for taco trucks in the Central Valley. "And then [team president] Derek Franks [suggested] doing Elotes or a type of food, but we're like, 'Well, nah, we've already done the Tacos.' ... Eventually, it became, 'Well, does it have to be in Spanish?' I mean, 80 percent of our Latino population speaks English. So we have a big Chicano population, and that was why for me, Lowriders made the most sense."

Ray Ortiz, the Grizzlies events and entertainment manager, was also a Lowriders early adopter. "Fulton Street, outside our stadium, has gone through some renovation the last couple years. It had been a walking mall for the last 40-plus years and they turned it into a street. And on Sundays, they started bringing lowriding back," Ortiz said. "The lowriders would come out and cruise, and it was happening right outside of our stadium. And Dorian [Castro], our graphic designer, he grew up designing lowriders. So I think that kind of gave us the advantage in having a cool design. The colorway gives life to [the Grizzlies] original purple colors and it just really pops. And plus, you know, more people will ooh and aah over a lowrider than an elote." 

"And then there was the connection that Fresno was the central location between Los Angeles and the Bay Area," added Hansen. "Lowriding originated in Los Angeles but the first publication [_Lowrider _magazine] originated in San Jose. And then the guy who founded _Lowrider _magazine [Sonny Madrid] was from the Central Valley, so we just thought it was a perfect connection."

They decided on the Lowriders name because, ultimately, it met three key criteria.

"We knew that there was the element there to have really cool merchandise," Hansen said. "We plan to, each year, change the logo out and the winner of the car show will their car icon-ized as part of the uniform next year. There's also the part where we can add those Taco Truck Throwdown elements, where it's bigger than a baseball game and spills out onto the streets, literally, and becomes a huge car show for all of downtown Fresno. And the third thing, we were really excited that it gave us a platform to educate on a national level that lowriders aren't negative. I mean, in the movies it's always the gangbangers that jump in the lowrider and drive off. But then you start meeting people who are actually involved in this culture. This is engineering and art meeting in harmony. That was one of the big things we were trying to push."

Ortiz spent much of the offseason immersing himself in lowriding culture in order to create stadium events that truly reflected the community.

"It was super important to us that we had somebody representing the culture," he said. "We had the idea of creating the [Best in Show] Sonny Madrid Award, which is the award that one of the lowriders won. ... We went to lowrider roundtables and discussions, panel discussions that they had in San Jose, in January, February, March of last year. We wanted to make sure that what we were doing was not only cool and fun but also represented correctly, because this community, the lowriding community, is very passionate about what they do, just like our sports teams are very passionate about who we are. It just all tied in together."

Crucial to the success of the Grizzlies' Lowrider weekends was the participation of the California Travel Team, a group of elite lowrider aficionados who stage car shows all over the country. During July 27's ballgame, Travel Team members Juan Cienfuegos and Robert Barajas explained that they first met Ortiz at a Chukchansi Park "Trunk or Treat" charity event. Ortiz, in the Halloween spirit, was dressed up as a priest.

"We see this priest, and he came out with a Lowriders hat," said Cienfuegos, a Merced, Calfornia, native and proud Monte Carlo owner. "He's like, 'Hey, we've got something here that we want to do. Can you guys help us do it?' And we looked at each other, said, 'Yeah, we could do that.' We knew this was an opportunity to show people how our culture is. We've got to do it."

"It was an honor," said Barajas, a Fresno native who owns multiple lowriders. "We're the Travel Team. We just travel. ... We get there, we do what we got to do. We bring everything, the best of the best. That's how we got the name Travel Team. We go where we need to go. There's no better."

Juan Cienfuegos (left) and Robert Barajas, members of the California Travel team. "We've been doing this a while. We have a lot of connections," Cienfuegos said. "We got the judges involved, and as soon as [lowrider owners] see who's involved, then we're out there for real. ... We were able to pull off a successful show for our first year. We had heavy hitters coming in, cars from all over. So it was a blessing to be able to do that." It was also an educational opportunity for the club. "[The Travel Team] coordinated the load-in, the parking, the signups and pretty much schooled us on how to do a legit car show. So big shout-outs to them and all their crew," said Oritz. The Grizzlies are confident that Lowriders Weekends will only continue to grow, thanks to the support of the Travel Team and the Central Valley lowriding community. "We like to keep our secrets close, but we plan to go bigger and better," said Ortiz. "We learned a few lessons and some things that we needed to do a little better, so we'll come back and make it a bigger Lowrider party for 2020."

Benjamin Hill is a reporter for MiLB.com and writes Ben's Biz Blog . Follow Ben on Twitter .

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