The hallmark of a really, really bad economy is seeing all the things we thought were recession-proof start to suffer. Professional sports as a whole has been a notable casualty. But seeing NASCAR, which makes more money than God and has unrivaled devotion among its fans, stumble in ticket sales, is a real kick in the teeth.
Next week’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway still hasn’t sold out, and if you’re not a NASCAR fan, you might not realize how big that is. Bristol has sold out the last 53 races, a streak dating back 27 years, the longest of any track. And hell, if you can’t get 160,000 people to trek to the Tennessee-Virginia border in March, you might as well just close up shop.
Filling 160,000 seats sounds like a challenge, but it’s never been a problem before for the World’s Fastest Half Mile. Track President Jeff Byrd won’t give specifics on how many seats remain unsold in advance of next week’s Food City 500.
“We’ve not answered that question and I’m not going to answer it now,” Byrd said. “The problem in answering that question is that you want to tell the truth to the media, and I don’t know the real answer to that.”
But he’s trying to put a positive spin on the sport’s troubles.
“It’s forced everybody in the industry to re-examine everything we do,” Byrd said of the economy. “So in a way it’s been a very healthy exercise for us.”
Since I have never been to an auto race, or know anyone who has, I was shocked at the prices for NASCAR. The cheapest seats in Bristol run $93. Ninety-three dollars!
NASCAR’s suffering everywhere. None of this season’s races have sold out, not even the Daytona 500. Last weekend at Atlanta there were 50,000 empty seats.
The silver lining in all of this is that perhaps Fox won’t be preempting the Simpsons with NASCAR races that run long.
3:26 pm on March 14th, 2009
I went to my first race at Bristol in 1993, I paid a scalped $25 and felt like I had my wallet stolen. This year, It would have cost me $107 per ticket to renew my seats. That's a HUGE increase over that span. My pay check sure hasn't quadrupled. Nor has my interest in the money racket that has become NASCAR.
3:32 pm on March 14th, 2009
Bristol is on the Tennessee Virginia border.
4:00 pm on March 14th, 2009
If only half the place is filled, that's still 80, 000 people, more than any NFL stadium can hold.
4:56 pm on March 14th, 2009
races are too dam long. can be so boring. u tune in every now and then just to see if you missed a crash and who is out of the race, then tune in to catch the last few laps.
i like the sport, but these drivers are making too much money for what they do.
i heard tony stewart is building an indoor fishing pond at his home. seriously.
5:43 pm on March 14th, 2009
yes sir everbody bitches about the nfl,nba and baseball salaries but are quiet about the big money made in nascar,golf hockey 3 sports that are 99.9 % white male hmmmmmm
9:53 pm on March 14th, 2009
Is NASCAR still considered a sport?!?
1:54 am on March 15th, 2009
Sean said 80,000 is more that any NFL stadiam can hold, but if you had 16 NASCAR races going on at the same time you well never get over 20,000 per race
2:01 pm on March 15th, 2009
Actually, I'm a NASCAR fan - I usually go to a couple of races a year - but the costs really are outrageous. These guys act like they can't make it on lower salaries. Really?? It's called personal sacrifice jackasses…you're not entitled to private jets, bentley's and 20 room mansions. Richard Petty used to trailer his own race car to tracks.
Anyways, besides the high costs at tracks, hotels charge out the ass, often requiring a two night minimum. To play up the stereotype though I would make this change in the article, "But seeing NASCAR, which makes more money than God and has unrivaled devotion among its fans, stumble in ticket sales, is a real kick in the TOOTH."