NHRA ticket sales dragging

Monday, April 2, 2001 | 10:34 a.m.

By all accounts, last year's inaugural National Hot Rod Association event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was an unqualified success.

A near-sellout crowd estimated at 30,000 packed the brand-new facility to witness the SummitRacing.com Nationals and saw longtime fan favorite Kenny Bernstein snap a 23-race winless streak in the Top Fuel final.

NHRA officials were so impressed with both the facility and the crowd that they awarded LVMS with a second national event this season.

But with the start of the second annual SummitRacing.com Nationals only three days away, it appears the novelty of major-league drag racing in Las Vegas might be wearing off. As of Friday, fewer than 7,000 tickets had been sold for Sunday's finals, according to an LVMS source.

The reason for the slow ticket sales is threefold: This year's NHRA event is going head-to-head against one of the West Coast's most popular races, the Long Beach Grand Prix; the addition of a second national event gives fans the option of attending the race here in late October; and inaugural events historically attract larger crowds than succeeding races.

LVMS general manager Chris Powell, however, said he was counting on a strong walk-up crowd this year that could push attendance figures past last year's event.

"We had a good walk-up last year and we expect to have a good walk-up this year," Powell said. "I have every reason to believe that we're going to have a great crowd and a great event.

"I'm very happy with the (amount of) tickets we have sold and I'm not so sure that when Sunday is over, we won't have exceeded what we did last year."

Although fan interest in this weekend's event may be down, the participants are eagerly looking forward to returning to The Strip.

"We're looking forward to coming back (to Las Vegas) for a couple of reasons," Bernstein said. "One, it is, obviously, a place we won at. Also, it's a great racetrack and it's a great city and we love coming there because there is a lot to do besides just race."

John Force, who lost in the Funny Car quarterfinals at The Strip last year, agreed.

"I like Las Vegas," Force said. "It's a fun town to come to and I think it's a great concept -- the stadium that they put in.

"We're like little kids in Little League, playing baseball on an old, rundown field and then you go to a big stadium and you see what it's really like. It's just really neat."

Gary Scelzi, who lost to Bernstein in one Top Fuel semifinal last year, said Las Vegas already has become one of the drivers' favorite stops on the 24-race circuit.

"Without a doubt, Las Vegas is one of the races that every driver in NHRA Winston Drag Racing would like to win," Scelzi said. "Las Vegas is one of the premier events on the schedule after just one race. I think the hoopla surrounding the city of Las Vegas makes this a major stop on the schedule.

"I think it's a great stop because it's close for our West Coast fans; a lot of people will be making the trip out to Las Vegas for this race."

Pro qualifying session are scheduled for Friday at 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday.