On the Right Track
A NASCAR BLOG BY Jeff Gluck
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Where are the fans?
Feb
23
FONTANA, Calif. - NASCAR just released its estimated attendance figure for the Craftsman Truck Series race in California today.
According to the race report, there were 37,000 people here.
I don't know where they got that number, but the actual amount of fans in attendance was by far closer to 3,700 than 37,000.
It's tough to estimate these things, but I'm fairly confident there were about 8,000-10,000 people in the stands during the truck race. Even if there were 10,000 additional fans in the infield, that would only account for about half of NASCAR's estimate.
The bottom line is that not many fans took advantage of the track's doubleheader offer.
Quite honestly, this really wasn't the fault of anyone at Auto Club Speedway. For some reason, the race fans in Southern California just don't show up when NASCAR is in town.
As a California native, that makes me sad. But when the speedway offers two NASCAR races for the price of one - with a Sprint Cup Series practice thrown in for good measure - and the fans STILL don't show up, you have to ask: Will they ever?
According to the race report, there were 37,000 people here.
I don't know where they got that number, but the actual amount of fans in attendance was by far closer to 3,700 than 37,000.
It's tough to estimate these things, but I'm fairly confident there were about 8,000-10,000 people in the stands during the truck race. Even if there were 10,000 additional fans in the infield, that would only account for about half of NASCAR's estimate.
The bottom line is that not many fans took advantage of the track's doubleheader offer.
Quite honestly, this really wasn't the fault of anyone at Auto Club Speedway. For some reason, the race fans in Southern California just don't show up when NASCAR is in town.
As a California native, that makes me sad. But when the speedway offers two NASCAR races for the price of one - with a Sprint Cup Series practice thrown in for good measure - and the fans STILL don't show up, you have to ask: Will they ever?
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Comments
4 responses to "Where are the fans? "
Harvey Speight said:
Feb 24, 2008 at 6:11 AMEven Rockingham drew more fans than California. Looks like the California races need to be moved to somewhere like Kentucky or maybe a new track in, say, Montana.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportJohnny Lewis said:
Feb 24, 2008 at 6:34 AMThe reason is because the racing is boring at California Speedway. One race a season at Califonia Speedway could even be pushing it. If they would have built a 3/4 mile sppedway, I bet it would be impossible to get a ticket.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportsaid:
Feb 24, 2008 at 8:56 AMI went to a dual USAC / Nascar race at the old Ontario speedway once.... and I had my choice of seats. Maybe the reason attendance was and is poor in southern California is that the racing is not top quality. In the race I saw, AJ Foyt won them both and there was no contest. The cookie cutter Fontana track does not inspire and I have not seen a very exciting race there. But let's face it, there are few Bristols around. Paulee.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSally Baker said:
Feb 24, 2008 at 7:33 PMThere were two toher tracks in California years ago...Riverside and Ontario. Neither of them are still in existance because California let it be known years ago they wouldn't support Nascar races there for anny lenght of time. As much as Nascar wants to have races in that 'market', you can't force people to have an interest.
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