NASCAR attendance, ratings in low gear
Tuesday, Mar. 02, 2010
FORT WORTH, Texas -- NASCAR president Mike Helton is well aware that the season is off to a slow start at the gate and on the television screen.
There were plenty of good seats available two weeks ago in California and the TV ratings for the first three races have been down compared with 2009.
While the attendance woes continue a trend of recent years, Helton is hopeful the television ratings have a lot to do with the pothole at Daytona and going up against the Olympics the first three Sprint Cup races.
"There are spectacles in sports or entertainment in general that are a challenge," said Helton, who was at Texas Motor Speedway on Monday for the track's annual media day. "Whether it's Olympics, the Masters or different Super Bowls, we know those things going in. We know the history behind those."
As for attendance, Helton hopes the sport's focus on back-to-basics racing will help draw people to the track. The Daytona 500 was listed as a sellout.
SPOILER AT TMS?
Never one to miss a chance to draw attention to his track, Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage put Mike Helton on the spot Monday.
Gossage asked Helton if the spoiler that was tested at the track in January would be in place for the April 18 Samsung Mobile 500.
"There's a doggone good chance," Helton said.
Helton said he hoped within two or three races the series would be at a point where NASCAR can take the wing off the car and replace it with the spoiler.
Four races are on the Sprint Cup schedule before the series heads to TMS.
TOUGH TIMES FOR HORNISH
No one is more surprised than Sam Hornish Jr. that he hasn't had more success in the Sprint Cup Series.
Hornish, who drives the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, is in his third full season in the Sprint Cup Series.
Hornish, who won a pair of IndyCar Series titles, has yet to win in the series and has just seven top-10 finishes in 75 starts.
It's not exactly the kind of results Hornish became accustomed to when driving Indy cars.
"I could be frustrated with how the last couple of years have gone and I am," he said. "But it has been challenging. It has been everything I kind of wanted it would be. Don't get me wrong, I want to get to the point where we can win."
© 2010, Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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