California nightmare

FONTANA, Calif. – Southern California has a population of approximately 17 million people. It's the largest market that NASCAR visits – twice a year, no less – and the No. 2 media market in the U.S.

Why, then, were there so many empty seats Sunday at California Speedway for NASCAR's Auto Club 500?

The track's listed capacity is 92,000. Several long-time observers and reporters who've covered numerous events there estimated that around 75,000 fans attended Sunday's race.

Speedway president Gillian Zucker disputed that.

"Oh come on," she bristled when asked if she felt those numbers were fair approximations.

Some even went so far as to claim the figure was closer to 60,000.

But Zucker won't be discouraged.

"Not at all," Zucker said. "We had a goal that we were working towards and we met it. Nobody on our staff is making any apologies. As you walk around here, I think what you'll see is a lot of smiling faces."

Noticeably empty were numerous rows in the north and south ends of the grandstands, those near Turns 1 and 4. But Zucker says she was happy with the crowd.

"What we had out there were people who wanted to be here, were enthusiastic to be here and there were a lot of people who had never been here before," she said.

Zucker claimed that part of the reason so many empty seats could be seen was that many fans were in the midway area and under the grandstands "shopping during the race and … at concession stands."

"In terms of numbers, we hit all our goals and were real pleased," said Zucker, who assumed leadership over the nearly 10-year-old facility last year. "I don't have the exact numbers, but they'll be pretty close [to what the track drew last year]."

The track used to draw close to sell-out crowds when it hosted only one event per season, which typically was held in early April. But since acquiring Darlington Raceway's traditional Labor Day event two years ago, as well as having its existing race moved to its current post-Daytona 500 date formerly held by North Carolina Speedway, the Fontana track has struggled.

Poor ticket sales was one of the reasons that led to the departure of former track president William G. Miller roughly a month after last year's February race. Zucker assumed her role later in the year and did away with a previous practice of giving away free tickets, which arguably had been done to boost numbers.

But that isn't the only possible reason for lower attendance.

The National Hot Rod Association's season-opening Winternationals, which two weekends ago drew close to 100,000 fans to the L.A. Fairplex in nearby Pomona, likely cut into the speedway's potential revenue stream, as many fans might have chosen one event over the other.

And with the next Cup race just two weeks away in Las Vegas – which is only 225 miles from Fontana – it is possible fans are choosing the casinos and entertainment of Sin City over Fontana, as the March 12 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 500 at the 141,000-seat LVMS is close to being a sellout.

Whatever the reason, seeing so many empty seats at Fontana likely will be hard to swallow in the Daytona Beach, Fla., offices of International Speedway Corporation, which purchased California Speedway in 1999. Rumors have surfaced that the two-mile track, located approximately an hour east of downtown Los Angeles, may ultimately lose one of its two Nextel Cup race dates if attendance continues to lag.

And judging by this past weekend's draw, those rumors may prove to be true, although Zucker remains positive.

"This race is going nowhere," Zucker said. "Everyone is committed to this, from NASCAR to the track to International Speedway Corporation, to the sponsors, to the drivers. You name it, everybody is committed to this track and growing this market. It's the No. 2 media market in the nation and the No. 1 media market where we have an event at right now."

To the credit of both Zucker and her staff, diversity outreach efforts to market the race to more minorities, particularly the Latino and black communities, were a definite positive this past weekend.

"At the end of the day, [diversity is] what this market is all about," Zucker said. "That's why everyone is so committed to growing this market because it's about expanding the fan bases of NASCAR and that's what we're doing. We're bringing a new audience here to get exposed to this sport and that's what it's going [to take] to make it continue to grow."

From a competitive standpoint, California Speedway is a favorite place for numerous drivers – particularly Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, who both grew up less than 150 miles away.

Team owner Jack Roush is also bullish on keeping two events in Southern California.

"L.A. is a huge, huge market that's important to NASCAR and to the sponsors," said Roush, whose cars (or trucks) won all three Fontana races this past weekend. "We've got a reason to be here and we need to be here twice a year.

"We are building the event. [If] we have the kind of racing that we're having and get the coverage that I'm sure that it will receive over a period of time, we'll be able to fill the stands and then in short order they'll be building more stands. That's NASCAR's way."

But Sunday's Nextel Cup race winner Matt Kenseth misses the former tradition of having the second race of each season in Rockingham, N.C.

"I really loved Rockingham, so you're asking the wrong person about that," Kenseth said. "I love coming to California, but when we went to Rockingham, it's just an awesome race track. You could really race there like we used to race – spinning the tires and short track-type racing.

"It was like a week off after being in Daytona for two weeks. I love this place, but I loved going there, too."

That kind of talk won't deter Zucker from staying the course and trying to make her playground to the stars of NASCAR also a playground for a greater number of NASCAR fans.

"This is a major market," Zucker said. "It's not going to happen overnight. We're going to have patience with it. But in terms of where we're headed and what we wanted to accomplish with the race this weekend, we did it.

"This is the last frontier, we're not going to abandon it. We're going to get there."