Michigan NASCAR race looking at dismal attendance

UPDATE #2 "A roughly 20 percent drop in MIS ticket sales this year — on top of the 15 percent drop from 2007 to 2008 — is a far cry from the sellouts of years past, but it's not surprising given the economy. Even the fans who make it out to MIS this weekend are bringing thriftier attitudes to accompany their love, loyalty and need for speed." Michigan Live

06/12/09 Rumor has it there are as many as 100,000 unsold tickets for this year's Allstate 400 at Indy, just underscoring the huge drop in popularity of NASCAR.

06/12/09 According to the Detroit News, the MIS NASCAR race ticket sales are down 20-25 percent, despite MIS reducing ticket prices 25 percent and children 12-and-younger will be admitted free. This for a race that sold out for many many consecutive years.

What is interesting to note – if fans cannot afford to attend the races in person due to the economic downturn, one would think that TV ratings would be up because fans would stay home and watch races on TV for free. The fact that both are down significantly tells us that after years of oversaturation of NASCAR everywhere you turn, fans are losing interest in it.