NASCAR and Stockcar Racing

January 31, 2010

15 Comments »

1. 

   I am watching the race right now (tape delayed for me so I could do yard
   work today).
   I may have to change my mind about the Texas Cup Race.  It looks like a
   wider groove was worked in today.  It looks like there’s some good racing
   going on.
   

   If 210,000 show up for a bad race, I wonder how many will show up for a good
   race when the groove widens up?

   TMS will need a bigger parking lot.  Only got 600
   acres now!!!

   - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

   > I only caught a few snippets on the radio–start,
   > some of the late middle, and just after the end.
   > Sounded like an interesting race.  Just ten or
   > eleven cars on the lead lap.

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

2. 

   On Sun,  4 Apr 2004 19:59:06 CST, "Tommy Wood" <tgw…@nospam.com>
   wrote:
   

   >I am watching the race right now (tape delayed for me so I could do yard
   >work today).

   I picked up my sister from her group home and took her to a movie
   and to dinner.  That’s why I heard so little of the race.

   >I may have to change my mind about the Texas Cup Race.  It looks like a
   >wider groove was worked in today.

   The announcers said the Busch race yesterday developed two grooves.

   Bill Ellliot steamed by Bobby Labonte on the opening lap.  I don’t
   know if that meant there were two grooves from the start or is
   just an indicator that BL blew the setup.

                                           Marty

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

3. 

   >Great to see ES get his second win!

   >KK: the real deal.  Is he going to top Tony Stewart’s
   >rookie season

   Did anybody else besides me feel like KK was gipped out of a deserved win?  The
   boy blew the field away all day long, and if it hadn’t been for the sudden rash
   of cautions right after his green flag pit stop, I think he would have been the
   winner by a long shot.  Guess I can’t complain though…my #1 boy Jr. was
   fourth, my #2 boy Kasey was second, and my #3 boy Elliott was the big winner!

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

4. 

   "Martin X. Moleski, SJ" <mole…@canisius.edu> wrote in message
   news:gn3170t3fv6rs9ttju1cdk2j6imbjerc23@4ax.com…

   > Great to see ES get his second win!

   > KK: the real deal.  Is he going to top Tony Stewart’s
   > rookie season?

   > I only caught a few snippets on the radio–start,
   > some of the late middle, and just after the end.
   > Sounded like an interesting race.  Just ten or
   > eleven cars on the lead lap.

   > JG’s gotta be doing the coulda-shoulda-woulda
   > dance.  Seems like he was close in the last 60
   > laps or so.

   > Marty

   I thought Awesome Bill was going to take off with the race, but as fro JG he
   had an alternater go out, his radio chatter indicated he was shutting all
   sorts of  fans and such off, i think BL had the same problem (UCAP coming)

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

5. 

   On 5 Apr 2004 04:50:06 GMT, sunflwr…@aol.comnospam (Sunflwrs93)
   wrote:
   

   >>KK: the real deal….

   >Did anybody else besides me feel like KK was gipped out of a deserved win?  
   > …

   I couldn’t make out what happened in the caution-after-the caution.

   Someone did something bad on the restart.  The PRN guys said,
   "Cautions breed cautions," but they didn’t seem to have any
   coherent explanation of who hit whom when and why.

   It may be that I wasn’t able to listen long enough to hear their
   report.  At that point in the race, I was driving my sister
   from the movie (Agent Cody Banks 2–NOT recommended!)
   to Pizza Hut (medium pizza, salad bar, soda for 2, with
   tax, $17–not bad).  But I’ll bet that caution cost KK the
   race and I doubt very much that NASCAR persuaded
   any of the drivers to wreck in order to give Elliot Sadler
   the win.

   I may be wrong.

                                           Marty

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

6. 

   "Martin X. Moleski, SJ" <mole…@canisius.edu> wrote in
   news:aji27019vgin7o16jnbs3le07jh8i2fb0b@4ax.com:
   

   > I couldn’t make out what happened in the caution-after-the caution.

   > Someone did something bad on the restart.  The PRN guys said,
   > "Cautions breed cautions," but they didn’t seem to have any
   > coherent explanation of who hit whom when and why.

   Everyone on the inside line checked up except the 25 car, who
   got into the back of Wimmer pretty good ("lifted him" to use
   the current lingo), which turned Wimmer sideways into the
   outside line, which was moving right smartly by then, and
   Mayfield had nowhere to go.  Stove in the right side of the
   Cat car, and punched a hole in Mayfield’s radiator.

   John

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

7. 

   On 6 Apr 2004 01:15:01 GMT, John McCoy <igop…@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
   

   >> Someone did something bad on the restart.  The PRN guys said,
   >> "Cautions breed cautions," but they didn’t seem to have any
   >> coherent explanation of who hit whom when and why.
   >Everyone on the inside line checked up except the 25 car, who
   >got into the back of Wimmer pretty good ("lifted him" to use
   >the current lingo), which turned Wimmer sideways into the
   >outside line, which was moving right smartly by then, and
   >Mayfield had nowhere to go.  Stove in the right side of the
   >Cat car, and punched a hole in Mayfield’s radiator.

   Thanks for the replay, John.

   Tough break for everybody.  Big ripple effect behind
   the incident and up front, too–KK could have used
   the extra laps to run down Sadler.

                                   Marty

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

8. 

   "Steve Scott" <ssco…@twcny.rr.com> wrote in message

   news:4il270pn52cdo6npgeh16b28rn2smkrhhi@4ax.com…

   > According to David Poole there’s only seating for about 157,000.  He
   > said the media center was full but not that full.  :)

   seems like first race in 2000 i went down to TMS for the announcer mentioned
   over 200,000 there total with the folks in the infield

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

9. 

   Many question whether the attendance numbers at Texas are real or made up.
   

   So, just for grins, let’s do the math.  —-  This is a long, boring post,
   so if you’re an impatient soul, just go to the next post.

   First of all, you might think I’m kidding, but I’ve been to five Cup races
   at TMS and I’ve walked through the grandstands on Cup day.  THERE IS NOT ONE
   SINGLE EMPTY SEAT!!!  I’ve checked.  Believe me, I’ve checked.  It’s the
   most amazing thing you’ve ever seen.  OK, I haven’t walked all 98 sections
   of the grandstand, but I have walked 10 or 15 sections and believe me, there
   is not one empty seat, so let’s just calculate the grandstand capacity and
   if it’s off by a few people, shoot me.

   Front straightaway grandstand: (66 rows by 97 sections by 20 seats per row
   minus turn 4 reconfiguration) = 128,040 minus 4500 = 123, 540   <<<turn 4
   reconfiguration took about 15 rows away in about 15 sections x 20 seats per
   row = >>>

   Infield Capacity approx. 53,000 per TMS website <<<Is this high?  There are
   about 1000 camper spaces and it’s sold out, so that would be about 4 persons
   per camper plus 13,000 walk-in tickets.  It’s probably not exaggerated too
   much.  I’ve seen some buses with 10 people in them, so it balances out with
   the couples  or threesomes in an RV.>>>

   Back straight grandstand = : 33,600 (60 sections x 28 rows x 20 seats per
   row)

   Speedway Club =  6600  (10 sections x 33 rows x 20 seats per row)

   Luxury Suites: 194 with seating for 13,192  <<<You can bet these will be
   full.  You pay for it, so wouldn’t you be crazy not to make sure the tickets
   are used?>>>

   Condos:  76 condos x 35 guests = 3,800

   Office Suites:  Don’t know if they’re allocated spaces, so let’s assume
   zero.

   Temporary bleachers (called party zones, sponsored by various companies) =
   1400    (35 rows x 40 seats per row = 1400)

   Workers (concession and track workers) = <<<Do they count?  Well, the
   concession workers do sneak over to watch the race when they’re not busy,
   but just for grins, we won’t count them. >>>

   Add it all up and I get about 123,540 + 53,000 + 33,600 + 6,600 + 13, 192 +
   3,800 + 1,400 = 235,132.  OK, this might be high; sure, every suite might
   not be full, etc., but it’s pretty close.  And, looking out at 650 acres of
   solid rows of cars means there are a lot of people there.

   TMS advertises Total Estimated Capacity = 204,861 on their web site, but
   that doesn’t include suites, speedway club, etc.

   So, Poole is right, in a way, but he’s wrong in another way.  Sure, there’s
   grandstand seating for about 157,000, but there are condos, infield, and
   suites to add
   to the grandstand seating.

   "Steve Scott" <ssco…@twcny.rr.com> wrote in message

   news:4il270pn52cdo6npgeh16b28rn2smkrhhi@4ax.com…

   - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

   > On Sun,  4 Apr 2004 19:59:06 CST, "Tommy Wood" <tgw…@nospam.com>
   > wrote:
   

   > >If 210,000 show up for a bad race, I wonder how many will show up for a
   good
   > >race when the groove widens up?

   > According to David Poole there’s only seating for about 157,000.  He
   > said the media center was full but not that full.  :)

   > —
   > Sometimes I feel like a figment of my
   > own imagination.

   Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

10. 

    On Wed,  7 Apr 2004 06:44:56 CST, "Tommy Wood" <tgw…@nospam.com>
    wrote:
    

    > … Add it all up and I get about 123,540 + 53,000 + 33,600 + 6,600 + 13, 192 +
    >3,800 + 1,400 = 235,132.  OK, this might be high; sure, every suite might
    >not be full, etc., but it’s pretty close.  And, looking out at 650 acres of
    >solid rows of cars means there are a lot of people there.
    >TMS advertises Total Estimated Capacity = 204,861 on their web site, but
    >that doesn’t include suites, speedway club, etc.
    >So, Poole is right, in a way, but he’s wrong in another way.  Sure, there’s
    >grandstand seating for about 157,000, but there are condos, infield, and
    >suites to add
    >to the grandstand seating.

    Cool analysis, Tommy.

    Thanks for the facts and figures.

                                    Marty

    Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

11. 

    "Tommy Wood" <tgw…@nospam.com> wrote in
    news:1076mhgq9ipim22@corp.supernews.com:
    

    > Infield Capacity approx. 53,000 per TMS website <<<Is this high?
    > There are about 1000 camper spaces and it’s sold out, so that would be
    > about 4 persons per camper plus 13,000 walk-in tickets.  It’s probably
    > not exaggerated too much.  I’ve seen some buses with 10 people in
    > them, so it balances out with the couples  or threesomes in an RV.>>>

    1000 campers @ 4 per works out to 4000 people, plus 13000 walkins
    gives 17000, not 53000.  I’m not sure if you meant 10000 camper
    spaces or 40 people per camper (neither of which sound reasonable),
    but either way there’s a problem here.

    John

    Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

12. 

    But, for sure, TMS is deceptive when they report on attendance at other
    races.
    

    I’ve counted the number in the grandstands and I think TMS is counting all
    the PAID admissions, meaning that all those Season Ticket Holders who don’t
    go to the IRL or CTS races, get counted.

    Sometimes at the other races, I’ll walk through the grandstands and count
    the average number of people on a row and then do the math.  Generally, TMS
    estimates it high by a factor of 1 1/2 to 2 (ie. 45,000 attend, but 90,000
    paid).

    Kind of deceptive, I think.  They ought to count the actual pass-thru at the
    gate, not tickets sold.  Just my opinion.

    The main difference, I think, is that everybody who buys a Cup ticket goes
    to the race or sells it to somebody who goes to the race, so almost every
    seat is full.

    "Martin X. Moleski, SJ" <mole…@canisius.edu> wrote in message
    news:te387019anoquvf9beov8gveefq5ndsfiv@4ax.com…

    - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    > On Wed,  7 Apr 2004 06:44:56 CST, "Tommy Wood" <tgw…@nospam.com>
    > wrote:
    

    > > … Add it all up and I get about 123,540 + 53,000 + 33,600 + 6,600 +
    13, 192 +
    > >3,800 + 1,400 = 235,132.  OK, this might be high; sure, every suite might
    > >not be full, etc., but it’s pretty close.  And, looking out at 650 acres
    of
    > >solid rows of cars means there are a lot of people there.

    > >TMS advertises Total Estimated Capacity = 204,861 on their web site, but
    > >that doesn’t include suites, speedway club, etc.

    > >So, Poole is right, in a way, but he’s wrong in another way.  Sure,
    there’s
    > >grandstand seating for about 157,000, but there are condos, infield, and
    > >suites to add
    > >to the grandstand seating.

    > Cool analysis, Tommy.

    > Thanks for the facts and figures.

    > Marty

    Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

13. 

    You’re absolutely right.  Wonder how TMS gets 53,000 as the infield
    capacity?  Not that I doubt that you could fit that many people there, but I
    agree that 4,000 is reasonable for 1000 motorhomes.  I don’t know how many
    walk-in tickets they actually sell.
    

    One time, I bought a walk-in ticket at Atlanta.  I stood in the infield
    listening to the cars, wishing I could actually see them.  You can’t see
    much if you’re standing in the infield with all the things blocking your
    vision.

    "John McCoy" <igop…@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message

    news:Xns94C4C44A4E003pogonewsguy@129.250.170.93…

    - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    > "Tommy Wood" <tgw…@nospam.com> wrote in
    > news:1076mhgq9ipim22@corp.supernews.com:
    

    > > Infield Capacity approx. 53,000 per TMS website <<<Is this high?
    > > There are about 1000 camper spaces and it’s sold out, so that would be
    > > about 4 persons per camper plus 13,000 walk-in tickets.  It’s probably
    > > not exaggerated too much.  I’ve seen some buses with 10 people in
    > > them, so it balances out with the couples  or threesomes in an RV.>>>

    > 1000 campers @ 4 per works out to 4000 people, plus 13000 walkins
    > gives 17000, not 53000.  I’m not sure if you meant 10000 camper
    > spaces or 40 people per camper (neither of which sound reasonable),
    > but either way there’s a problem here.

    > John

    Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

14. 

    "Tommy Wood" <tgw…@nospam.com> wrote in
    news:1079cjcmjclqs6f@corp.supernews.com:
    

    > One time, I bought a walk-in ticket at Atlanta.  I stood in the
    > infield listening to the cars, wishing I could actually see them.  You
    > can’t see much if you’re standing in the infield with all the things
    > blocking your vision.

    I have always been under the impression that folk in the infield
    don’t actually go to look at a cars.  At least, not the male
    portion of the audience.

    John

    Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

15. 

    I’ve noticed the same and in 5 races i’ve been mostly in the turn 4 region
    but the first year i went down in 2000 we were in a temp section of
    bleachers in turn 3, and those actually were purty darn good seats only
    because we wer on the top row. then one year on the backstretch, but i’ve
    never ever noticed any empty seats.
    

    but what gets me though pay $110 for a ticket and leave early or in the case
    of the people in front of us $550

    Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 8:13 am

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.

• Search for:
• Archives
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009