|
|
Post by stuboyle on Jun 27, 2011 16:35:24 GMT -5
I just read the following:
"Texas, always the largest draw outside Indy, had its worst crowd ever earlier this month and Bernard is considering multiple doubleheaders at tracks that want INDYCAR like Iowa."
I heard the Texas attendance was something like 73,000 this year. If I recall, it has been in the 90's in the past. I just went to my first race in the last 3 or 4 years and here are my observations:
1) Being able to watch the race in Hi-Def on a big flat screen television really makes me think twice about going.
2) The races at TMS just simply are not as good as I've seen during the days when Sam Hornish was running. I think its because the track is bumpier now than it used to be and its hard to run the outside line. We don't have the 2 wide pack racing that we had in the past.
3) By the 2nd week of June, it gets well into the 90's during the day and on is still on the hot side as it gets dark. This makes the climate-controlled comfort of my living sound very appealing.
|
|
|
|
Post by indy on Jun 27, 2011 17:12:40 GMT -5
I think you can add a 4th reason in that the IndyCar race always had a nice bump in sales from the NASCAR fans who owned season tickets and had to get tickets to all the races even when they didn't want IndyCar tickets. Overall NASCAR ticket sales are down so my guess is that the Texas Indy races are being impacted by a drop in TMS season ticket holders.
I think Kenny Brack's accident at Texas doomed pack racing aero packages. If that had happened on the front stretch then there might have been multiple fan fatalities.
Jordan
|
|
|
|
Post by stuboyle on Jun 27, 2011 17:19:59 GMT -5
That makes sense Jordon about lower attendance at NASCAR equating to lower attendance at the Indycar event.
I seem to recall a number of pack races after Brack's wreck.
|
|
|
|
Post by indy on Jun 27, 2011 21:22:51 GMT -5
All good points, Stu. I just wouldn't have gone to a lot of the early IRL @ Texas races if my I didn't have family always trying to unload those tickets since all they wanted were the Cup part of the season tickets. ;D I was on the way to the Firestone Firehawk 600k when it was cancelled - I was concerned someone might die that day so I wasn't terribly disappointed it was cancelled....
Jordan
|
|
|
|
Post by stuboyle on Jun 27, 2011 22:25:23 GMT -5
I was on the way to the Firestone Firehawk 600k when it was cancelled - I was concerned someone might die that day so I wasn't terribly disappointed it was cancelled.... Jordan Are you talking about the CART race? Yes, I made it to the track and they turned me around outside the place and told me to go home. I had a pit pass for practice. It was pretty cool. Zarardi, Tracy, Andretti, Helio, the list went on and on. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2011 2:02:11 GMT -5
Texas I've never entirely found an enjoyable track as I think they tried to make it too much of something and it kind of fell flat.
It is big, yet tight and I can remember plenty of years in both NASCAR and IRL when there were complaints of the racing groove being too tight with the track promoters just printing shirts that said "shut up and race". Indeed, I remember trying it on some of the simulators and it felt like one was doing a trench run on the Death Star in Star Wars. It wasn't at all like Indy, Michigan or even Kansas and it just felt... mean. Granted some nice improvements have been made to the track since those early days, but in the end it still has a bit of a stigma attached to it from the earlier years.
And yes, I remember watching the driver camera views from when CART went there and I was getting dizzy from just watching it. If they had tried to race there, each pit stop would have needed an extra man over the wall to hand over an air sickness bag.
Of course, I have to wonder if maybe IRL is not getting as big a press promotion in Texas since their fuel is now ethanol and Texas is still somewhat of the heart of big oil country and normal unleaded is cheaper at the pump that ethanol. Iowa's market on the otherhand fully embraces ethonol, hence the higher exposure.
|
|
|
|
Post by stuboyle on Jun 28, 2011 4:12:11 GMT -5
Everything has Ethanol in it now in our neck of the woods. They removed that one additive to reduce smog (BTE?) because it was causing weird things to frogs, among other things, and added ethanol instead.
Regarding the Texas crowd, we also have had the recent spike in gas prices that can't be good for attendance. The DFW area is not without competition was it comes to sports as well.
|
|
|
|
Post by smbrm on Jul 1, 2011 11:07:28 GMT -5
Not sure what BTE is? Or did you mean MTBE?
|
|
|
|
Post by stuboyle on Jul 1, 2011 13:29:03 GMT -5
Not sure what BTE is? Or did you mean MTBE? Yes, I meant MTBE. |
|
