NASCAR fans unhappy
Friday marks the end to NASCAR Champion’s week in New York City, and the televised annual awards banquet will be an instant “classic” beginning at 6 p.m. Friday.
The three-hour program will air live in Southern Nevada on ESPN Classic, which is Cox Digital 322.
Not everyone has cable, let alone the top tier digital services.
Many fans aren’t happy about not being able to hear the same speeches, sponsorship plugs and weak entertainment.
Who cares?
The NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball have parades for their champions and not banquets.
This is must-not watch TV. But if you must and don’t have digital service, it will re-air Tuesday afternoon on ESPN2 (Cable 31).
TESTING, TESTING
NASCAR’s ban on testing for its Sprint Cup teams will not affect tire testing.
Four Cup teams will be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Wednesday and Thursday for a Goodyear tire test session paid for by the tire manufacturer.
Drivers scheduled to participate are Carl Edwards (Ford), Mark Martin (Chevrolet), Brian Vickers (Toyota) and David Stremme (Dodge).
The sessions are closed to the public.
FEWER SEATS, SOME REDUCED PRICES
The Cup is no longer running over with support, including the grandstands at Texas Motor Speedway.
Speedway president Eddie Gossage announced last week that the facility that hosts two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup races is cutting its seating capacity by 15 percent to 138,100 and reducing lower backstretch ticket prices by 45 percent.
The removal of some grandstands will provide room for a new trackside parking area for 74 spectator motor coaches. It will be called “Burnout Alley.”
It is not being created for folks like Jeff Spicoli, played by Sean Penn in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”
HOW LAS VEGAS CAN HELP OUT FANS
Tracks can lower the cost of attending races by easing up on restrictions put on spectators.
Facilities like Las Vegas Motor Speedway should lift its ban on not allowing fans to bring food, water and soft drinks into its stadium. Letting customers bring in a small cooler could be a significant savings for fans.
There’s plenty of time to make this happen before the March 1 Shelby 427 Cup race.
Las Vegas, however, has taken a positive step toward savings for those buying overnight camping spots by opening the lots on the Monday before the race — two days earlier than in the past – and at no extra charge.
COLUMN FEEDBACK
Last Friday my column was about how everyone in racing — from teams to series — needs to help support aspects of the racing industry that are hurting the most during our recession.
I hit hardest at the Indy Racing League for opting to affiliate with a Brazilian marketing group to make it the official ethanol supplier instead of continuing its two-year program with U.S.-made ethanol.
I called it a treasonous act by the IRL and suggested a boycott of next year’s Indianapolis 500.
The night before my column was published, the IRL put out the following release:
“Statement from Terry Angstadt, president of the commercial division of the Indy Racing League, regarding the Indy Racing League and ethanol:
“The IndyCar Series is proud to be fueled by ethanol, a renewable energy fuel. For the last three years, ethanol has been the official fuel as a result of a sponsorship agreement with the ethanol producers and EPIC, the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.
“The ethanol producers recently notified the IndyCar Series that it would not be renewing the agreement for 2009 and beyond and EPIC is ceasing operation. No one from any other part of the American-based ethanol community stepped forward with a substantial proposal.
“Soon after, the IndyCar Series and APEX-Brasil reached a preliminary agreement. As part of that agreement, we plan on starting our 2009 season with American-produced ethanol. Opportunities still exist for American ethanol companies and organizations to continue involvement in the IndyCar Series.
“The Indy Car Series is pleased to continue to be the only major American racing series fueled by 100 percent fuel grade ethanol. APEX will use the IndyCar platform to promote a variety of Brazilian products, services and opportunities, including ethanol. We look forward to working with American producers and Brazilian producers of ethanol to promote ethanol as a renewable energy source and part of the solution to lessen the United States' reliance on Middle Eastern oil.”
Las Vegas resident Andrew Prindeville, who will drive in the IRL’s developmental series next season, commented to me this week in an e-mail: “I do understand why many are angry about the switch, but I do find the word ‘treasonous’ hurtful and a bit much. I am a part of the IRL being in Indy Lights and it certainly does not feel good to read that.”
I understand how Prindeville feels and I didn’t mean to imply that IRL drivers or team owners are “treasonous.”
But I won’t back off bashing the IRL for taking a check to promote a foreign supplier when American companies need all the help it can get.
