Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

I'm watching Bristol, and there are more empty seats then full ones. If Bristol can't sell out the bloom must truly be off the rose.

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

They are at home watching the race on TV. Napcar is such a rip-off to attend a race, many can not afford it now days. I noticed last race or one before that the seats were multicolored to make it look like they were full.

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Gone fishin'???

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Originally Posted by racephoto1:
I'm watching Bristol, and there are more empty seats then full ones. If Bristol can't sell out the bloom must truly be off the rose.

Chris, we truly do think alike, sometimes, I've been wanting to post something to this effect this week, when you consider that only maybe 10-15% of the butts in the seats, live within 2-300 miles of this place, and the rest have to buy fuel and whatever to get their motorhome, or RV there, just how much of a budget do these people have, and to follow it wherever it goes, someone can't see well, if they think high fuel and energy costs, will bring the economy back, when you consider that everything moves, on whatever fuel is used, and the costs of food, and cloths, and just getting back and forth to work, is all tied to it, how much of an economic expert do you have to be, to be able to figure out why it ain't working, and clean ain't gonna bring the cost down, we've paved over all the farm ground, so we can't grow our own food, what's next, these folks that have been spending all this money, following Nascar, or what ever, have been contributing to the economy, and when they can't keep it up, it also brings down the economy, and raises costs to everyone. I don't see it getting any better, and certainly not anytime soon. Bob!:)

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Here where I live Bristol is our closest NASCAR track and the past couple weeks I've noticed a LOT of tickets for sale locally. It's either lost it's appeal for many or the costs have just taken the fun out of it for many.:29:

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

They announced before the race today there were 100,000 people there. I think in the last few years they have said it holds 150,000 after they put all the seats up between the turns..

What kills me is its a surprise to ANYONE?:10:


Gas has doubled in 3 and a half years although it was about this high before about 4 and a half years ago.

I sold all my racing stuff after Katrina hit and gas spiked. I started following stuff nobody really cared to listen too. The under informed people just think the economy will always get better and the mainstream media says it is better!!!:14: If they figured the unemployment rate the way they did in the 1930s the rate is almost 16% not the 9 % percent they tell you. The day has come when gas is 4 times more what it was 10 years ago. Your food has probably went up that high also, most people just dont notice. :16..Gas is tied to everything you buy.Why wouldnt you think everything wouldnt go up?
Just wait till all this GREEN stuff kicks in! The EPA is going to raise all of your energy costs. It will not only kill the american peoples pocket it will put more small buisnesses out of buisness.. A few are paying attention, but not very many!:11: Most will follow the leader and are going to be in for a rude awaking in the near future!

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

There all at Danica's trailer buying Prelude shirts and Hoodies.
:35:

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Its just not the price of a ticket. But everyone being on the take. 100 dollar camping, 20 dollar parking. 5 dollar pops and 8 dollar beers. Oh and ban smoking (Anywhere) on a redneck fan base. Its just not NASCAR either Its pretty much all sports in the US save maybe NFL and Supercross..

Just saying, You can sit home, Buy a Giant 72 inch TV and all the beer food and smokes you can stock for what it cost for one trip to Bristol.

P.S. This isn't a pro smoker thread either. But judging from my visit to Florence last night. If it was banned on the property there wouldn't have been half the attendance. BTW, I got a couple shine samples as well :)

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Or you could be a sponsor for a real race car team, for just a little bit of that expendable income, you're flushing down the toilet, out of your own state! Just sayin! Bob!:)

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Or maybe NAPCAR is just plain boring

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

I would bet I can come over to Indiana for Indiana Midget Week and spend less money than if I went to Bristol, and have money left over for Indiana Sprint Week or a number of other really great races. Rather than one or two OK races at Bristol, during Indiana Midget Week I can see the best midget drivers and the best sprint car drivers in the country. I don't expect every midget and every sprint car feature to be pulse-pounding, heart attack causing races, but I'll bet some are. Why settle for less when you can get both quality and quantity at a better price?

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Originally Posted by Charles Nungester:
Its just not the price of a ticket. But everyone being on the take. 100 dollar camping, 20 dollar parking. 5 dollar pops and 8 dollar beers. Oh and ban smoking (Anywhere) on a redneck fan base. Its just not NASCAR either Its pretty much all sports in the US save maybe NFL and Supercross..

Just saying, You can sit home, Buy a Giant 72 inch TV and all the beer food and smokes you can stock for what it cost for one trip to Bristol.

P.S. This isn't a pro smoker thread either. But judging from my visit to Florence last night. If it was banned on the property there wouldn't have been half the attendance. BTW, I got a couple shine samples as well :)

They put a no smoking ban at all outdoor sporting events several years ago in Northern Indiana.:10: I remember it put South Bend motor speedway out of buisness right after that.. I havnt smoked in years but it is just another freedom they have taken away. If smoking is so bad why dont they just ban cigerettes. I always stick up for smokers cause i beleive we were born FREE..

The post about Nascar races being so pricey hit home also. I always leave the sprint car races thinking the people next to me are my new best frinds!!:8:

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Remember Lincoln's famous quote? "You can fool some of the people all of the time.........."? I figure that's all they have left!

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

I think when they repaved the track it made NAPCAR that much more to sleep to. It was not too bad before the repave but they are still stock cars.

Wonder how long NASCAR goes before they start asking the government for a bailout ??? Or the only way their gonna get butts in the seats is to put manning in a ride!!! I might drive out of state for that . Lol

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Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

There is another idea I have , and this should scare every promotor who reads this board. We hear all the time that the economy is getting better and better from the politicos. We also know that everything you here in DC is far from the truth, and I'm singling out no one .

We all know that it isn't near as good as they make it sound in DC. Now with fuel prices on the rise it just gets worse. The thing that's scary is that the only way to pay for the jack in prices is to cut spending of disposable income. This will effect the local tracks.

Instead of going racing, you need to spend what used to be extra money on food, gas, and the like. There goes the budget for racing.I hope I'm wrong, but knowing Bristol is a perennial sellout, it seems to be more then a lack of interest, it seems to be that a lack of money among fans may also be playing a part. If that's the case, it could be a looong summer for the tracks around here. I hope I'm wrong.

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Originally Posted by racephoto1:
There is another idea I have , and this should scare every promotor who reads this board. We hear all the time that the economy is getting better and better from the politicos. We also know that everything you here in DC is far from the truth, and I'm singling out no one .

We all know that it isn't near as good as they make it sound in DC. Now with fuel prices on the rise it just gets worse. The thing that's scary is that the only way to pay for the jack in prices is to cut spending of disposable income. This will effect the local tracks.

Instead of going racing, you need to spend what used to be extra money on food, gas, and the like. There goes the budget for racing.I hope I'm wrong, but knowing Bristol is a perennial sellout, it seems to be more then a lack of interest, it seems to be that a lack of money among fans may also be playing a part. If that's the case, it could be a looong summer for the tracks around here. I hope I'm wrong.

I work retail, and that isn't exactly the most perfect gauge for everything, but I can honestly say our business has been up this past year over last. I mainly deal with businesses on my end of things, but businesses are starting to spend more, because consumers are starting to spend more. In certain areas it's better than others, and that's always going to be the case.

Bristol has been on the "downswing" for a few years now, I believe it was 2010 that they started advertising tickets for the night race. I remember when me and my dad looked at getting some back in the mid 90's, we were on a waiting list to even get a call on some. People are finally realizing that you can get much better entertainment value for a better price elsewhere. It isn't about how much disposable income people have, it's how much value they can get.

I'm not bashing promoters at all in this deal, but we as fans need to share some of the work too with getting more people to the local dirt tracks. It's hard to do, but if you know someone is a race fan, and they go to see a couple nascar races a year, it's better for their bottom line to spend it at their local track I would assume.

Main issue is Rome wasn't built in a day, and the USA can't get fixed overnight either.

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

put the dirt back down and keep it a Cup points race! ARCA does it...

No single answer. Try one race a year maybe (at every track) and $15-25tickets! Throw in some dollar hot dogs while at it...get rid of some media/social tweetin etc (iow or jd.com ok! - always updated post race...lol)...idk...take the fenders off? lol

Jason Dull
815 494 6002
jdull99@hotmail.com
jasondull.com (For all the Racing News)

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

1. NCAA March Madness
2. $4 per gallon gas
3. $200 a night motel
4. $7 hot dog
5. Reconfigured speedway banking reduces the number of crashes during race. People used to show up just for the crashes.
6. Dale Junior never wins any more.

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Originally Posted by Seadog:
1. NCAA March Madness
2. $4 per gallon gas
3. $200 a night motel
4. $7 hot dog
5. Reconfigured speedway banking reduces the number of crashes during race. People used to show up just for the craches.
6. Dale Junior never wins any more.

You got it, Seadog!:6::8:

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

mark my words, if they wend back to the old banking, it would be an instant sell out. 10 people that I work with used to go to every race. The last time they were there, the people setting right infront of them paid $25 per seat from the track ticket booth. When he recieved a call about why he was not renewing his tickets he told them that if they would sell the tickets to him for $25 he would gladly renew the seats. The lady told him that they were just tring to fill the seats. They have not been to the race in 2 years.

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

ain issue is Rome wasn't built in a day, and the USA can't get fixed overnight either.[/QUOTE]

Built? How about destroyed? The govt has its hands in the car companies,food,99% of the news media,the air you breath,energy to heat and cool your house,and coming soon your health care. They are going to be controlling all the waterways and also in the new farm bill it will be almost impossible for a teenager to drive a farm tractor.(not kidding).

Over regulation has been happening for years but in the last few years someone stuck there foot on the gas pedel!

The best quote i heard was from Kyle Petty after the cup race. He said if you wanna watch crashes go watch MONSTER TRUCKS if you wanna watch racing watch Bristol!!!

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

What is this Bristol thing that you people speak of?

:29:

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

...speaking of economics... still one of the best deals in town is to belong to the Hoosier Auto Racing Fans club (HARF) (or according to your part of the country DARF, BARC, the St Louis or Michigan area fan clubs also). Prices may vary to join these fan clubs, so I will speak for HARF (since I am it's current President) for this post. Joining HARF is $15.00 for a one years membership and for that $15. we work hard contacting all of our local race tracks to secure discount nights at these race tracks. It's early in our process so far, but already we have 5 1/2 price nights at Gas City Speedway, 3 FREE nights at Lawrenceburg Speedway, 4 1/2 price nights at Speedrome, 2 1/2 price nights at Bloomington & Kokomo Speedways, and more coming. We know we will add discounts from Anderson, Salem, Winchester, Lincoln Park, and Paragon Speedways (along with other before the end of the year). We have averaged over 30 discount nights a year for the past few years. So join, save money going to the races, many on here will testify to the saving they have gotten thru the years & will for years to come. Racing is always more fun with friends, so check out our website & if you wanna save some $$$ this year at our Indiana race tracks, join us...www.harfonline.org
bob black:22:

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Originally Posted by Charles Nungester:
Its just not the price of a ticket. But everyone being on the take. 100 dollar camping, 20 dollar parking. 5 dollar pops and 8 dollar beers. Oh and ban smoking (Anywhere) on a redneck fan base. Its just not NASCAR either Its pretty much all sports in the US save maybe NFL and Supercross..

Just saying, You can sit home, Buy a Giant 72 inch TV and all the beer food and smokes you can stock for what it cost for one trip to Bristol.

P.S. This isn't a pro smoker thread either. But judging from my visit to Florence last night. If it was banned on the property there wouldn't have been half the attendance. BTW, I got a couple shine samples as well :)

Just an FYI, but Florence has 3 entire sections of the frontstretch grandstands that are non-smoking and non-alcoholic drinks. It's where we sit each time we're down there and, just my personal opinion here, but I wouldn't trade those seats for any others they have.

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

I had season tickets at Phoenix for 5 years (96 thru 01). NASCAR during the day, Manzy and T-Bones at night, great fun.

Then the track was sold, prices went up, way up! In 2001 a $2.00 ice cream on Fri was $5.00 on Sunday. Front office staff had a take it or leave we don't give a SHOOT attitude. Drunk fans fightng in the stands was the last straw. I have never been back..Expect for Cooperworld.

I still have season tickets for NASCAR at Sears Point and a prime motorhome spot and I live 30 minutes away. I haven't been there in 5 or 6 years, I sell my spot every year to a local sponsor of NASCAR West Team. Again prices too high and the racing is just not worth the trouble.

It's my opinon that NASCAR and their promotors, IE Bruton Smith took advantage of their once loyal "historical" fan base and at the same time tried to appeal to the "younger crowd" by making changes. Charging more and more money to get the same service.

The cost of the product has exceeded the benifit / excitement of that product. Simple economics, it ain't worth the money and NASCAR better wake up to that fact. Actually it may be too late.:11;

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Bruton Smith says the rain kept them away. Also he might redo the track again and put it back the way it was.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...6386d20b558c99

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

I'm not saying anything for or against NASCAR, but I don't understand why watching Bristol before it was reconfigured was so much better liked. I would not want to pay for admission to a race and watch half the race under caution following the pace car around. I did make it to the WoO and CRA 360's at Vegas last week. I was in the pits the whole time, but the stands looked as if they were packed. The parking lot was definitely fuller than last year.

Last year I was pretty darn poor. No job, not much to spend. The only race I went to at Lawrenceburg was the fair race they had. 8 bucks to get into the fair and into the race. My wife and daughter went and I paid 16 bucks. Of course we bought food and what not...but...had tickets been 15 a piece, even for both the fair and race, I still wouldn't have gone. I only went because I knew it was a GREAT deal! We had a great time. It's this type of thinking promoters need to start doing. Add other attractions. It helps people get there. If they're there, they might be back again next week. That's the hope.

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Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Originally Posted by Diggsy:
Just an FYI, but Florence has 3 entire sections of the frontstretch grandstands that are non-smoking and non-alcoholic drinks. It's where we sit each time we're down there and, just my personal opinion here, but I wouldn't trade those seats for any others they have.

And thats perfectly fine. Im talking about banned on the property like some tracks, Great American ballpark, Where you used to be able to go to a patio out in right field. 50 yards from anyone and have a smoke and still see the game.

Bristol!!...Where's The Crowd??.....
 

$25.00 Tix also @ PIR...not the best seats way down low!!.can't see much cept'em comin' outa Trn 4!!..n' all chicks walkin' by!!.I know for fact,I've sat there a few times w/buds from VFW here!..I stil have my 2 seats on Isle,row 32 ,trn 2,sec.G Allison (elevators,concessions,rest rooms all very close)!!..but always sell'em all for $60 or so less than face value to same peeps w/5th wheel from here!!..........
_________________
Brucer':32:

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Simple answer. BORING RACES!!!! I am a racer and a race fan. I wouldnt go to any Nascar race if one was in my neighborhood. Been to a few. Went to Vegas last year and watched the USAC Sprints on thursday, WoO on Friday and hit the casinos on Saturday and Sunday. Had free tickets to both Saturday and Sundays Napcar races. The USAC and WoO were WAY Better racing. taped the nascar races and watched them at home and fell asleep. Just my 2 cents..

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

Just got back in from Bristol so I thought I would join in. We (8 guys in a motor home) have been going for 24 years for the spring race. For us it is about more than just the racing. My personal opinion, I like the new racing surface much better. It allows more racing without becoming a wreckfest.

From when we first started going 24 years ago, so many things have changed. The seating capacity is suppose to be 160,000 now. Saturday's Nationwise race was reported to have drawn 52,000 in the local newspaper story. I can assure you that there weren't over 25,000 people in the grandstands.

I was reading the USA Today on the way home and they reported attendance of 102,000 on Sunday. NO WAY! I would say maybe 60,000 at best. Bruton can say what he wants, the weather was absolutely great. It was the best we have had for the spring race ever.

Ticket prices haven't gone up for us in over 5 years and our parking spot remains the same as well. We are fortunate that we can split expenses and still afford to attend a couple of Nascar races (Bristol & Talladega) each year. We formerly hit about 7-8 each year but that has stopped due to financial situation. We had to pick a couple that we still found interesting.

Some of the guys who go with us, only go to any kind of race once or twice a year. They look forward to getting away and I guess when it either isn't enjoyable or too expensive we will quit going all together as well.

I still look forward to attending a lot of the short tracks here in the midwest. The racing is different and I for one like a variety of different types of races. I am amazed when people tell me that they are race fans yet what they really mean is they are only a ___________ race fan. You can fill in the blank with dirt traditional sprint, winged sprint, midget, silver crown, late model, modified, street stock, thunder car, hornet, etc, etc......... You can also say the same for pavement racing. I won't tell anyone that they should enjoy all types of races.

I will agree with many of you that there really isn't one thing that is hurting sporting events. There are any number of things that have caused this situation and I am sure that all promoters big or small are struggling to right the ship.

I personally don't sit at home and watch Nascar races since I find the media coverage less than desirable. I don't need the likes of Darrell, Larry, Jeff, Mikey and others shilling the BS (also known as their expert opinions). Television allows you to watch what the producer wants you to see. When you have your butt in the bleacher, you can watch what YOU want to see.

The next couple of years will be interesting to see how things progress. If the number of empty seats either stay the same or increase, something will have to change. Promoters won't sit still and continue to lose money. Right now they are treading water in hopes that the economy will rebound back to a more positive manner.

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

I watched part of the Sebring 12 Hours on the computer this past Saturday. That place was packed.

Re: Bristol, where's the crowd?
 

I was at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway on Saturday. They had a record breaking opening day crowd for 410 & 358 sprints.