Bristol Crowd

[Gomerpyle]

Looks like the race is being run on a Tuesday.

[leadfoot4]

Bristol....CROWD???


They shouldn't have shown the Goodyear Blimp, overhead shot. It showed just how EMPTY the place really is!!

[Openwheels]

Yeah, I couldn't believe how empty it was, not looking good at many tracks anymore...
I also found this:

"According to estimates from journalists at the track, there were between 35,000 and 40,000 at the race, won by, guess who, Kyle Busch. Bristol Motor Speedway, nestled in the mountains on the Tennessee-Virginia line, has a seating capacity of 162,000."

(NASCAR does not disclose official or estimated attendances, or the sizes of purses.)

"For years, Bristol was one of the most popular tracks in NASCAR, drawing packed houses (and waiting lists) for its summer race under the lights. The spring race, usually on a Sunday afternoon, was less popular, but it drew large crowds -- 160,000 as recently as 2009. Even attendance for the summer race dropped to 94,000 last year.

The spring race at Bristol in 2018 was hampered by poor weather. Many stock-car fans don’t decide to buy tickets until they know that it probably won’t rain. Rain was in the forecast last year, so there might have been 20,000 in the seats for the start of the race, under dark skies.

The race was stopped by rain. It was completed a day later, a Monday afternoon, with virtually no one in the stands, which is a tough break for a sport that can’t really be run in the rain. Rain was in the area again Sunday, but the speedway did not even offer tickets for roughly half the seats."

[Orange18]

Unbelievable, Had to be no more than 1/3 full. Looked like they were practicing. 30-40 thousand??? NASCAR is in deep dark trouble.

[bassman]

How do they afford to pay out after a poor show of fans like that? These tracks cant sustain things like this for too many seasons or they'll be closing the gates permanently... Nascar needs to find ways to get butts back in the seats...

[Orange18]

What about Track Owners??? Brunton Smith must be stroking out!!! To many Laps, to many races, tracks with two dates. The cash cow is in its death throws. That show yesterday is got to KILL sponsorship. Those camera's panning a stadium that is a third full is got to kill sponsorship. NASCAR was real good at not panning the empty seats at the bigger tracks but there was no way around it yesterday.

[roblaskowski99]

What's the price for a decent ticket? $155 for the top grandstand section is a little ridiculous to me

[phredo]

How do they afford to pay out after a poor show of fans like that? These tracks cant sustain things like this for too many seasons or they'll be closing the gates permanently... Nascar needs to find ways to get butts back in the seats...

Not to worry.  The gates won't be closing soon.  Why?  Because the TV money pays the bills - including the purses.

[Openwheels]

How do they afford to pay out after a poor show of fans like that? These tracks cant sustain things like this for too many seasons or they'll be closing the gates permanently... Nascar needs to find ways to get butts back in the seats...

Not to worry.  The gates won't be closing soon.  Why?  Because the TV money pays the bills - including the purses.

I couldn't agree more, NASCAR has always (and been getting worse, even when they come back from commercials they throw in a couple of more/ect.) about nothing but advertising and commercials...I understand the importance on having commercials and sponsors ships/ect, in all levels of racing...I get it...  but, things (and prices) have been taken to a whole new level lately....

I think NASCAR may really stand for  ...

N ational
A dvertising
S old
C ontinuously
A ll
R ace

or

N ot
A ble to
S ee
C ars
A ctually
R ace


N otice
A s
S pectator
C rowds
A re
R educing

  ....

[jimmy consi]

LOCAL ASPHALT RACING AND NASCRAP IN THE SAME SINKING BOAT!! I WAS AT THE TRACK EVERY WEEKEND BUT THEY CHASED ME AWAY (AMOUNG OTHERS)! FOUND OTHER THINGS TO DO.....

[leadfoot4]

There was an article published in the Rochester newspaper this morning, authored by sports writer Jenna Fryer, regarding the lack of fans at Bristol. In the article, she said that she spoke with driver Clint Bower, who said that after seeing the dismal attendance,  he did a little research of his own. His conclusion was that the fans are finally tired of the "price gouging" of the area's hotels/motels, and although he didn't mention it, most likely restaurants, too.

I recently became acquainted with an older gentleman who is a racing enthusiast, and he was telling me that he and his adult sons used to attend 2-3 NASCAR races a year, but the overall costs, especially the out of town lodging, has driven them away.

On a personal level, one of my former work colleagues used to own a condo unit in Myrtle Beach, SC, and would rent it to friends/family. I rented it several times, over the years, beginning in 1980, right after he purchased it. The first time you go someplace, you're a little unfamiliar with the most efficient way to do things, and while in MB, I picked up a hotel list/price schedule from one of the "chain" hotels, in preparation for making a room reservation for the trip home. This flyer included several of the southern states, and one of my "non-racing" friends, who was with us, commented about how there seemed to be "random weekends" with unusually high rates. All I could say was, "race weekend".

Apparently, the hotel owners have "jumped the shark".....

[Orange18]

The price gauging has always been that way, I paid $400 a night at flee bag motel in Bristol back in 2007. I feel that it just comes down to people loosing interest., partly due to the product that is being presented, but also due to the fact that there is so many other forms of entertainment. There is the same trend in hunting, our numbers are plummeting at an unsustainable rate). BTW who has 3+ hours to sit and do nothing but watch the tube. The races are way to many laps to keep anyones attention. When I rarely do watch a race on TV i DVR it and watch the first 25 laps and the last 25.

[roblaskowski99]

Agree with almost everyone's points races are way too long but these tracks that NASCAR is that don't care about the little guy it's all corporatetherefore they don't give a f*** what you pay for a hotel or ticket it's pretty pathetic because to get up to the NASCAR level you start grassroots where people actually care about you follow you and you remember them as a driver or fan

[Gomerpyle]

Dale Sr died and Dale Jr retired and NO ROCKINGHAM. Enough said for our group.

[raceannouncer]

I have to snicker when there's a mention of NASCAR and hotel prices in the same sentence...does anyone REALLY think that NASCAR can do anything to prevent an owner of any place of lodging to limit the charge of hotel rooms in areas surrounding a race track--or restaurants--or gas stations or any other retail business during a BIG race weekend?  I'm stumped as to how that is NASCAR's fault OR, more to the point:  What can they actually do about it?

I remember this happening at regional races, too, such as big racing events at Oswego (during the old ROC days and the days of Dirt Week at the NYS fairgrounds.  Placing blame on the promoters of racing, no matter how big or how small the event, borders on insanity!  If free enterprise doesn't seem right to you and you own your own business, would you honestly reduce your pricing just because the very thing you make your biggest profit from wants to tell what to charge?  NO practical business owner would want or do that!

Most people already believe that NASCAR is the big bully now;  I can just hear the howling now:  "Can you believe that NASCAR is trying to tell privately-owned businesses how to set prices for their goods and/or services to further their bottom line"?

TV contracts pay for the right to broadcast races;  they pretty much run the show of nearly everything they cover!  Butts in the seats become secondary to the fat money broadcasters pony up!  I agree that some things have to change before nearly every racing facility becomes extinct!  I don't have the answer(s) for the downturn--and  I won't pretend to, either! It seems like nobody else does, either.  This much I do know:  the desire to witness races in person vs. the increasing popularity of lazily sitting comfortably at home to watch, certainly contributes to it!  Somehow, the "thrill and excitement of being there" needs to be rekindled somehow!  Again, I don't have any answers!  And like most of you, I'm also deeply concerned...