It will be your fault if Martinsville ever loses a race

Ever since NASCAR quit going to races at Rockingham, people complained about the sport shedding its roots. Same with folks when Darlington lost a date. Thing is, both places weren't selling out and were among the circuit's smallest venues.

 

While it's a shame Rockingham no longer is on the Cup schedule (it does have an ARCA race coming up May 4) and Darlington is down to one race, the fact is if fans don't support it why should it be on the schedule? Like it or not, this is a business. If you won't pay for a race, ISC or SMI will find someone somewhere else who will.

 

Now, that doesn't mean Martinsville is on the verge of losing a race date. While it's an annual topic, it seems unlikely to lose a date soon. Yet, this soft economy isn't helping. The race there last fall had about 1,000 unsold seats. For a place that seats 62,000 (according to ISC financial filings), there's a small margin for error in how many seats can go unsold before those in higher-ranking positions start asking questions. Remember, ISC is a publicly traded company. Most people aren't investing in it just to say they own a piece of the sport. Most want to make money.

 

I talked with Clay Camptell, track president at Martinsville, on Wednesday and he described ticket sales for Sunday's Cup there "have been soft this year versus years in the past.''

 

This isn't just a Martinsville issue. Most tracks are feeling it. Richmond has tickets remaining for its May Cup race. It was only two years ago that Richmond announced nearly two moths before its fall race that the event had been sold out. Now, track officials expect to record their 33rd consecutive sellout but don't expect it to happen until shortly before the race.

 

Campbell makes the point that NASCAR fans travel a greater distance than fans for most other pro sporting events. Nearly half of the ticket buyers for last fall's Martinsville races were people at least 200 miles away. Skyrocketing gas prices impact these fans. A struggling economy also makes one question what to spend their money on.

 

If you're a race fan, why wouldn't you go to Martinsville? A ticket costs $42. Compare that with the NCAA women's basketball regional in Greensboro this weekend. A ticket there costs $52, plus you have to pay to park next to the stadium. Daily parking is free at Martinsville. Consider the NCAA men's basketball regional in Charlotte. Good luck on finding any ticket for less $150 with the Tar Heels playing. Hey, LeBron James is in Charlotte on Wednesday to play the Bobcats. Sure, there are tickets for less than $20 but you'll have to pay $50 or more for him to look like more than a dwarf from your seats.

 

To compare Martinsville with other tracks that have upcoming races, only a couple have lower prices among available tickets. You can buy a ticket on the hill overlooking turn 4 at Phoenix for $35 (but you dont have a seat unless you bring it. You want a seat there, the least expensive one there is $48). Lowe's Motor Speedway has some tickets for $39; Darlington and Pocono are $45, Daytona is $50 and Dover $50 _ that's an obstructed view seat. Michigan's cheapest ticket is $55; Texas is $58; New Hampshire is $60; Richmond is $80.

 

Campbell also told me that while he doesn't want unsold seats, he says it won't impact his track like it did Rockingham and Darlington.

 

"If you look back to when some tracks didn’t sell out in the past, that was when everybody else was selling out,’’ Campbell said. “It’s different now. If we were the only ones not to sell out, then I would have a concern.’’

 

I talked with an ISC spokesperson Wednesday and asked him about ticket sales _ most ISC tracks have sales that are soft, he said _ and how attendance factors into making changes.

 

”If you look at what NASCAR has publicly said … they want to eliminate the changes that have gone on the last few years,’’ said ISC spokesman Charles Talbert. “So, I think they would be very sensitive to that, but that’s not to say if things deteriorate rapidly or significantly that a change wouldn’t happen.’’

 

Read what you want to out of his last line. 

 

The thing is if Martinsville's ticket sales dip a bit that's likely to be viewed as the economy but if there's a trend of more seats going unsold each time the Cup series returns, then what? Will you be one of those who complains about something happening to Martinsville's schedule (if it ever does) even though you never bought a ticket? If so, don't even waste your breath. Few people will want to hear you. If you had a bought tickets and something ever happened to a Martinsville date, heck yes, you'd have a right to complain and be heard. 

 

The thing is, such drastic changes to a track's schedule don't take place quickly. They happen over time. Give Martinsville this, it's survived all these years and it seems unlikely it will disappear from the NASCAR schedule as North Wilkesboro and Rockingham anytime soon. The question is, what will you do to keep it alive?

 

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Enough ranting. On to a few items.

 

# The drama continues between Toyota and Roush Fenway Racing.   Seems Toyota returned a Roush piece that had Jack Roush so mad, yet there's still some question over what part it was.

 

# In case you missed it, Gene Nead is out at the Wood Brothers (he's back at Bill Davis Racing as an engineer) and Bobby Kennedy is Michael Waltrip's new crew chief. Paul Andrews moves over to oversee the test team.

 

# BAM Racing switches from Dodge to Toyota starting this weekend.

 

# Robby Gordon is being sued, in part, for something he said.

 

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That will do for now. You got an opinion on Martinsville, let's hear it. Or are you willing to let one of the sport's most historic tracks go undefended?

 

 

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