Crowds for U.S. Nationals remain strong

Four days of ideal weather led to record-breaking performances on the racetrack and near-capacity crowds for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park.

Cooler than normal temperatures and low humidity produced elapsed time and speed records in each of the four professional classes in qualifying. The conditions also helped fill the grandstands each day until Monday, when a few hundred empty seats were evident. Still, the weekend total was easily more than 100,000, a number commensurate with last year and opposite of the trend that saw declines in each of the three major events this year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"It looked good every day," track spokesman Scott Smith said. "As everybody is dealing with the economy, to see the grandstands like that, I think we're all very happy." IndyStar.com