For the 25th consecutive year I attended a NASCAR race at Dover. It was good to get back to a track as I haven't been to once since October. It was very sad to see such a small crowd. I would guess there were only 80,000 or so. Dover at one time had almost 140,000 fans on Sunday. This year I can think of a few factors that caused the smaller crowd:
As you can see from the 3rd photo, entire sections of grandstands were closed. With such a small crowd, is a track like Dover in danger of losing a date? While it is close to cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC, it is obvious that the crowds are not coming like they used to.
Several years ago I did some research that a lot of businesses around tracks in smaller markets, such as Dover, depend on these races. Dover has some subsidy with the casino and other events. But some of the other smaller market tracks don't have those luxuries.
It doesn't help that some of the races lately at Dover have been less than exciting. I can only count 2-3 times that a pass for the lead occurred under green flag conditions that did not involve pit stops. There were no major accidents on Sunday. And as I said before, a lot of fans have been turned off by Jimmie Johnson winning five straight championships.
I hope that things turn around for Dover. It was the site of my first NASCAR race and it will always hold a special place in my heart. But watching a track that I love half empty is alarming and sad.
- The weather service had called for rain all week.
- The economy. People are just not buying tickets as they don't have the discretionary money they used to have.
- Gas prices.
- Jimmie Johnson winning 5 championships in a row.
- The racing hasn't been that exciting at Dover over the last few seasons.
As you can see from the 3rd photo, entire sections of grandstands were closed. With such a small crowd, is a track like Dover in danger of losing a date? While it is close to cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC, it is obvious that the crowds are not coming like they used to.
Several years ago I did some research that a lot of businesses around tracks in smaller markets, such as Dover, depend on these races. Dover has some subsidy with the casino and other events. But some of the other smaller market tracks don't have those luxuries.
It doesn't help that some of the races lately at Dover have been less than exciting. I can only count 2-3 times that a pass for the lead occurred under green flag conditions that did not involve pit stops. There were no major accidents on Sunday. And as I said before, a lot of fans have been turned off by Jimmie Johnson winning five straight championships.
I hope that things turn around for Dover. It was the site of my first NASCAR race and it will always hold a special place in my heart. But watching a track that I love half empty is alarming and sad.
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