Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007 | 7:23 a.m.
It's a good bet that Bruton Smith was tuned into the ESPN telecast of Sunday evening's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race from California Speedway - if only to see how many seats the track failed to sell for its annual Labor Day race.
By most estimates, the track sold 72,000 of its 92,000 grandstand seats, plus whatever it packed into the infield motorhomes and suites. Following Sunday's race, track President Gillian Zucker said race dates in April and October would be easier to sell than its current dates in late February and early September because of weather concerns.
Smith, who counts Las Vegas Motor Speedway among the six tracks his Speedway Motorsports Inc. owns, has lobbied for a second annual Cup race at LVMS for years after routinely selling out its lone Cup race. That California Speedway cannot sell out both of its races serves as additional ammunition for Smith when he pleads his case - usually through the media - for a second Cup date.
Instead of using the fact that California Speedway (which is owned by rival International Speedway Corp.) can't sell out either of its two races to bolster his argument, Smith should heed it as a warning. Although the lone Nextel Cup race in Las Vegas is hugely popular with NASCAR fans, there is no guarantee that LVMS President Chris Powell and his staff would sell out two dates (although they would relish the opportunity).
It is generally agreed that about 60 percent of the 160,000 fans who pack the local speedway every March for the NASCAR weekend are from out of town , and some estimates put that figure as high as 70 percent. How many of those fans would be willing to lay out money for tickets, airfare, hotel room, transportation and entertainment to come to Las Vegas twice a year?
Although Las Vegas certainly is a destination city unlike any other in this country, the guess here is that many of those fans will continue to come to Las Vegas in March , but if they have the resources to take more than one trip a year, it likely will be to another track in another city.
The possibility also exists that a second Cup date could take away from the track's existing race. If Las Vegas were to land a second Cup date, some fans might decide to skip the spring race in favor of, say, a night race in the fall and leave the track with the same problem facing California Speedway. Although Smith now can throw open the LVMS ticket windows and sell 130,000 grandstand tickets with little effort, it would be a real challenge to sell 260,000 - even in Las Vegas.
Smith also would be wise to consider the market in which LVMS sits. California Speedway, in Fontana, has a population base of about 20 million from which to draw, and can't sell out 92,000 grandstand seats twice a year. Las Vegas has a base of about 2 million and we all know the area's reputation for supporting local sporting events (e.g., the annual Las Vegas PGA Tour stop).
Of course, Smith would make money with a second Cup date in Las Vegas - maybe not twice as much as he's making now with one race, but a handsome profit nonetheless. And that is why he will ignore the warning signs in Fontana and continue to lobby for a second date here.
And four years after he does bring a second race here, he'll be wondering why he can't sell out two races a year.
Quick study
Former open-wheel standout Jacques Villeneuve wasted no time in getting up to speed in the Toyota Tundra he will race this month in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
In a test last week at Chicagoland Speedway, Villeneuve quickly was running lap times within two-tenths of a second of those of Bill Davis Racing teammate Mike Skinner, a former series champion.
"We had our ups and downs , but after going back to the basics, we were very pleased," Skinner said of the former Formula One driver and 1995 Indy 500 champion.
Villeneuve, who will make his Truck Series debut at LVMS, will compete in the final seven races this season before moving to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series next year with team owner Bill Davis.
Fast feast
Lowe's Motor Speedway President "Humpy" Wheeler is at it again.
Wheeler, whose promotional prowess is unparalleled in professional racing, has introduced an "All-You-Can-Eat Grandstand" for the Oct. 13 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at the track near Charlotte, N.C.
Wheeler is turning three sections of the grandstand overlooking Turn 2 at the speedway into a modified buffet. Included in the price of a ticket ($59 to $99, depending on seat location) will be a buffet-style concession area featuring hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, popcorn, peanuts, soft drinks and water.
The concession area will open one hour before the race and will remain open for two hours after the green flag is waved.
8
Consecutive NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races that have failed to sell out at California Speedway.
3
Dario Franchitti's lead over Scott Dixon going into Sunday's IndyCar Series season finale at Chicagoland Speedway. Tony Kanaan is 39 points out of the lead and in contention for the championship.
"It doesn't look like we are going to make it , but we aren't going to quit trying until they say we aren't in the Chase."
Dale Earnhardt Jr., on his chances of qualifying for the 12-driver Chase for the Nextel Cup. Earnhardt is 128 points out of 12th place going into the final "regular-season" race Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.
archive
