NASCAR isn’t just for rednecks anymore. While the vast majority of attendees are the blue collar fans who built the sport and account for most of its gate receipts, Richmond International Raceway has expanded its clientele by selling hospitality pavilions and luxury suites to the corporate crowd.

The track offers packages that can accommodate from eight people to several thousand, Matthew Becherer, senior vice president of marketing at RIR told Louis Llovio for an article in this morning’s Times-Dispatch.

Here’s an intriguing business proposition: Not only can Dave Tindall move your household possessions from one location to another, hecan clean up the mess you left behind.

Tindall, four-year owner of the Maid to Perfection franchise in Richmond, has invested in a moving and storage business, Two Guys and a Truck. He runs the company with co-owner Kim Wyatt, who had managed the company-owned Richmond office of Two Guys and a Truck before the two purchased the franchise.

Talk about good timing! A new Glass Doctor franchise has opened shop in Richmond – just in time to help homeowners prepare for Tropical Store Hanna.

Co-owner Cindy Winn offers the following advice to homeowners who rush to the lumber yard to buy plywood to secure glass doors and windows. “If the plywood isn’t installed correctly, the might damage the windows more than the high winds and rain could.”

Altria Group, corporate parent of Philip Morris USA, is well advanced in talks to acquire UST, maker of the Skoal and Copenhagen smokeless tobacco brands, for more than $10 billion, the New York Times has reported.

The deal could still fall apart, the newspaper emphasized. But executives involved in the transaction reportedly were prepared to work through the weekend to complete the transaction as soon as Monday. Speculation about the deal commenced Thursday when UST’s CEO, Murray S. Kessler, abruptly withdrew from an analysts’ conference, prompting a brief surge in the share price and heavy options trading.

Tridium Inc., has announced a collaboration with Jennic Ltd., an English developer of wireless microcontrollers, to combine Jennic's low-cost wireless IP-connectivity with Tridium's groundbreaking Sedona Framework software to integrate a wide range of sensors and actuators in manufacturing applications.

The Sedona Framework is the first complete, open-source software platform for developing, deploying, integrating, and managing pervasive device applications. The software distributes decision making control and manageability to any device and brings intelligence and connectivity "to the network edge and back."

Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc., a provider of outsourced biotech research services, is collaborating with ZyGEM Corp. Ltd. to develop new markets for the New Zealand company’s DNA extraction technology.

CBI is integrating ZyGEM's forensicGEM kits into its Fairfax Identity Laboratories DNA reference operations. A leader in the use of advanced forensic procedures, Fairfax Identity Laboratories analyze over 50,000 forensic samples each year while also developing enhanced forensic testing procedures.

Commonwealth Commercial Partners Inc., is working on a redevelopment of the Hotel John Marshall into high-end apartments and retail space. The initiative could add as many as 232 luxury apartments and 24,000 square feet of retail space to the heart of downtown.

The hotel, once a landmark in the central business district, closed in 1988. It reopened again in 1999 with a portion of its rooms available, but closed five years later. The latest incarnation of the building, if plans work out, will be named “Residences at the John Marshall,” reports John Reid Blackwell with the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Rising gasoline prices are encouraging Richmonders to take a second look at the bicycles gathering dust in the back of the garage. Save on gas … get more exercise … Could be a winning combination.

“It’s been really interesting with gas prices -- we’ve gotten a couple of calls with people commuting more. They ask about routes and best practices,” Champe Burnley, a board member of the Richmond Area Bike Association, told Alec Depcrynski with Richmond BizSense. “It’s very rewarding to see that. People are looking at cycling not only for recreation but for transportation needs.”

With Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hanna bearing down on its service area in eastern Virginia, Dominion Virginia Power has readied repair crews and equipment for emergency restoration work over the next several days.

Dominion meteorologists believe the storm could pack a powerful punch, with heavy rains and wind gusts over 60 miles per hour. "This storm has serious potential to cause widespread damage," said David A. Heacock, president of Dominion Virginia Power. "We are treating it seriously, and we urge our customers to be prepared and keep themselves safe throughout this event."