NASCAR will no longer provide attendance estimates

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. NASCAR will end its policy of providing estimated attendance figures in its race reports this season. Spokesman Kerry Tharp said tracks still will have the option of providing crowd estimates, but it will be their prerogative.

Of the 23 tracks that play host to races in NASCAR's premier series, 21 are owned by publicly traded companies such as International Speedway Corp. and Speedway Motorsports Inc. Officials with those tracks have said they don't provide attendance figures because they don't want to provide earnings guidance.

You wouldn't be trying to cover up any problems, would ya NASCAR?

updated by @andy-denardi: 08/22/18 04:10:43AM

I really don't see where they have to.

That is their business.

Let them handle it.

Let's just enjoy the racing that they provide for us.

During my ten years at the Richmond track (pre-ISC) from 1990-1999, the Associated Press writer on hand always made an attendance estimate that was distributed as just that.... "an Associated Press estimate of today's attendance." Of course, it was pretty easy. We and he knew the exact number of seats and they were all sold out. We were not selling any infield admissions, so - unlike Charlotte - didn't need to report an unbelievable figure of 3-4 times the infield's capacity. It was a cut and dried and honest number being reported.

--
"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

the mature fan base is still there - what they are having trouble with is attracting the younger gen x as fans - they are going to pull out all the stops - shows concerts more entertainment type atmosphere and more gimmicks to the races .

On the attendance front.........Until this past weekend, I had not been to Daytona since 1971. Granted, there were lots of changes and commercial development around the speedway, but the most surprising change (to me) was the lack of normal parking spaces. Our group was trying to find a parking space, of course we were turned away at the "main" entrance (hello) so, we made one complete "lap" around the entire speedway complex. Every single open area, is 1. paved, 2. Fenced/gated, 3. Designated "motor homes, trams, bicycles, motorcycles, etc. etc. etc.....everything except the run-of-the-mill FAN has been assigned a parking space. We wound up parking, $30.00 thank you very much, across International Speedway Blvd. on the back row of a commercial shopping center, adjacent to theHobby Lobby. Hey, NASCAR, ya reckon having NO parking space for (regular-everyday-drive-up)fans might just relate to the current state of the sport? We were there for the ARCA/Sprint Unlimited race, and parking was an issue.....just imagine parking for the 500.

Back in the early 50s There might be as little as 13 cars on the track and less than 1000 fansin the stands!

When I lived up North, one of my home tracks was Lime Rock Park. It's a small track, only a mile and a half, attendance is low, maybe 35,000. All parking is either inside the track or immediately adjacent. And all of it is free. In the Eighties, before NASCAR made the motorhome popular, you could park right up against the fences and watch the races unfold twenty yards away from the comfort of your car.There are no grandstands, so you can carry in anything you want. The pits are free and open to everyone and there are no garages so you can stand and watch them working. No fences separating the drivers from the fans either.It really spoiled me on how race tracks are supposed to be. Strangely, road racing is a dead sport and NASCAR has TV contracts with several networks.

I'm not a big fan of either non-points race. But if they need one, how about playing off your comment PKL. Run a roadie on the back roads of Wilkes County or North Georgia. Run it at night. FOX would need to use infrared cameras since the cars don't run headlights. Run the hot dogs only. No strokers. Substitute start and park cars with local, state and Federal law enforcement. Instead of pit stops, each car would be required to make a quick dash through the woods. At half way mark, cars would have to make a u-turn switchback and race back to the beginning.


--
Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.

It wouldn't be completely impossible to do a backroads run, but it would be illegal and FOX would have to show the race a week later. When Car & Driver magazine was doing the Cannonball Run I went down and watched the start a couple of times. There were hundreds of people there, and the local police certainly knew about it, but everyone played it cool until they had spread out on their assorted routes.You could run it from North Wilkesboro to Atlanta or Texas. Put a GPS sensor on each car so that the officials can make sure nobody uses the interstates. How many acres does Junior have? They could set up a huge dirt track through the woods up there.They legally run the Copper Classic in Arizona, but I don't think there are any houses or side roads that would make top speed runs hazardous.