Will NASCAR take away one of Atlanta’s races?

Careful observation of the grandstands at Atlanta Motor Speedway this past Sunday — from my various positions in the infield, revealed the attendance for the Pep Boys 500 was significantly down from previous years. The speedway’s clever attempt to mask the empty seats by painting seats red and blue randomly may have fooled the television viewing public, but standing behind pit road and looking up, the empty seats were obvious. Granted there are about 16-20 rows of lower seats on the frontstretch that have limited viewing (even the track website accounts for the restricted viewing) making those seats less desirable, the track was far from a sellout crowd. My best estimation was that seating was two-thirds full. The Public Relations machine announced the crowd to be around 100,000 strong. Many estimated it was more like 75,000. Remember when NASCAR abandoned Rockingham because it did not sell out? Remember when Darlington lost a date because it could not fill the stands for two events? Should Atlanta be concerned? Source