FONTANA, Calif.
See a NASCAR race, get a ticket to a college football game. Or win a car. Or get free gas. Or...
Special packages, giveaways and ticket discounts have become more common as track operators try to lure fans to Sprint Cup races during this economic downturn.
Even with the promotions, the trend of empty seats - a common sight this season - looks to continue. Daytona International Speedway announced this week it won't open its 57,000-seat backstretch grandstand for next July's race because of a lack of attendance. Those seats, though, will be available for the Daytona 500.
And this talk of a rivalry between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards isn't enticing some fans. While gas prices no longer top $4 a gallon, it's still a burden to wallets.
That's forced track officials to create promotions more typical of minor league sporting events.
"There's no shortage of fan interest in racing; we just need to tell them some good news," said Marcus Smith, president of Lowe's Motor Speedway.
So, how to fill those seats?
Auto Club Speedway, where the Cup series races tonight, offered a $99 special that included a ticket to the race and a ticket to Monday's college football game between Tennessee and UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
Such alliances are rare, notes Jon Greenberg, executive editor of Team Marketing Report, which analyzes ticket costs for professional sports. However, Greenberg says this offer made sense since both UCLA and the speedway had tickets available and the venues are about 45 miles apart.
It's just one of many promotions the track has tried to fill its 92,000 seats, something it hasn't done the last four years and is not expected to do tonight.
"To reach people in ways they weren't really anticipating generates curiosity to the sport and helps bring fans to the speedway," said Gillian Zucker, president of Auto Club Speedway.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway ranks among the sport's leaders in innovative fan perks with what it calls its economic stimulus package. All ticket buyers for the June race were entered into a drawing to have their mortgage (up to $2,500 a month) paid for six months. Another 20 fans received gas cards. Attendance was listed as a sellout, although empty seats were visible.
With the series returning there next month for the start of the title Chase, the track is offering another incentive. Ticket buyers can win a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. Twenty fans will receive grocery store cards worth $300 each.
"We tried to find a program that rewarded people who had already bought their tickets... and if somebody was sitting there on the fence trying to decide to come or not come, hopefully, some of these prizes and incentives that we had in the form of rewards would be enough to say, 'Hey, I'd like to go to the race,' " said Jerry Gappens, general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
More fans are deciding to stay home this year. Sixteen of the season's 24 races have had crowd estimates smaller than the year before. So, the dealing is likely to continue.
Homestead-Miami Speedway, which hosts the November season finale, offers a $20 gas card to fans buying tickets and traveling more than 100 miles.
Other tracks have more traditional discount deals. Lowe's Motor Speedway, Texas and Atlanta each go with the four tickets/four hot dogs/four soft drinks package for $159. Atlanta also sells student tickets for as low as $19.
Martinsville Speedway offers discounted tickets for active military and veterans for its October race. Richmond International Raceway, which hosts next week's race, offers a fan pass similar to other tracks. For an additional cost, fans can attend a question-and-answer session with driver Denny Hamlin before the race and receive other perks such as a pre-race pit pass, free buffet and free drinks.
Lowe's Motor Speedway officials brokered deals with about 30 hotels to lower nightly rates by 15 percent for race fans and wave minimum stay requirements.
That's not the end of it, either, Smith promised.
"We've got more (deals) to come," he said.
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