Big crowd expected for today’s IndyCar race

UPDATE The estimated three-day total attendance for the inaugural event exceeded the goals of race promoter ZOOM Motorsports, which estimated more than 86,000 fans attended the three-days of racing at Barber Motorsports Park – including an estimated record crowd of 53,555 fans on April 11.

"The attendance more than doubled the largest event ever held here previously at Barber Motorsports Park," said Gene Hallman, president and CEO of Zoom Motorsports. "The Indy Racing League product is a fast-growing and very demographically-dialed product for consumers in this market. Being the only race on the calendar in the Deep South, we were able to draw a lot of IndyCar fans into Birmingham, which helped us from a tourism perspective. The Indy Racing League is a tremendous partner and helped us immensely in this first year."

Indy Racing League officials were equally pleased with the on-track product showcased in front of the fans who attended the first-year event.

"I think our first race at Barber Motorsports Park was a very successful event. There was a lot of action down in Turn 5 and we saw quite a bit of passing in Turn 11 as well. It was a very good show and entertaining for everybody."

04/11/10 According to John Lewis, the vice president of marketing and league development for the Indy Racing League, weekend attendance for the Alabama GP IndyCar race at Barber Motorsports Park today will exceed 100,000.