| NASCAR has been taking a beating regarding the low | | | | value, that means roughly 3 out of every 4 seats |
| turn out by fans to the races. It is important to | | | | was EMPTY! Think about that for a minute. The |
| remember, however, that the current economic | | | | "crowd" was so sparse that the company |
| meltdown isn't just occurring in the United States. | | | | broadcasting the race world wide actually eliminated |
| The world's biggest racing championship found that | | | | cameras showing parts of the track where there |
| out over the weekend. | | | | were no fans! |
| The only things NASCAR and Formula One have in | | | | The drivers and teams were shocked by the lack of |
| common is the fact that they race on paved | | | | attendance. Things were so sparse, they actually |
| surfaces. The technology and crowds are so | | | | suggested to race officials that fans should be let in |
| different it is hard to draw any comparisons. It is | | | | for free. With tickets sell for between $60 and $450, |
| much like the comparison between American football | | | | the race was a huge failure from a revenue point of |
| [the NFL, etc,] and what the rest of the world calls | | | | view. If you figure an average ticket price of $200, |
| football [soccer]. Well, at least that was the case until | | | | the Turkish Grand Prix lost some $22,800,000 dollars. |
| this past weekend at the Turkish Grand Prix. | | | | NASCAR has had some sparsely attended races this |
| The Turkish Grand Prix is run in...wait for it...Turkey. | | | | year, but none where three out of every four seats |
| The circuit is only a few years old and provides for | | | | were empty. Some of the races have been so boring |
| amazing racing. It involves plenty of twists and turns | | | | that three out of four attendees may have wished |
| as well as numerous places for passing. Oh, and it | | | | they weren't there, but that is another subject. |
| seats in excess of some 150,000 people. | | | | Regardless, NASCAR deserves much of the criticism |
| The 150,000 number is significant. Why? The actual | | | | thrown its direction, but people need to realize |
| Formula One race had an attendance of 36,000 | | | | economic woes and attendance issues are happening |
| people. That was the announced total, which is | | | | everywhere. |
| usually optimistic. If we take that number at face | | | | |