Only 1/3 of seats were sold for NASCAR Texas race

NASCAR at Texas

The doomsday talk of NASCAR has become a storyline on a seemingly weekly basis, and it continues to draw the ire of Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage.

A recent Forbes article detailing the fall of NASCAR suggested that TMS’ race a couple weeks ago “appeared as if only one-third of the 100,000 seats" were occupied.

“I don’t think that number is accurate," Gossage said.

The doomsday talk of NASCAR has become a storyline on a seemingly weekly basis, and it continues to draw the ire of Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage.

A recent Forbes article detailing the fall of NASCAR suggested that TMS’ race a couple weeks ago “appeared as if only one-third of the 100,000 seats" were occupied.

About 1/10th of the seats will be filled for this weekend's IndyCar race at TMS. A major image black eye for IndyCar.

“I don’t think that number is accurate," Gossage said. Gossage could not comment more on attendance numbers for the spring race at Texas, as it’s against company policy at Speedway Motorsports Inc.

“We’ve not been allowed to as a public company forever because it is perceived, or could be argued, we’re giving you inside information on our sales that would affect stock price, etc., etc.," Gossage said.

Gossage acknowledged that part of the article is accurate in saying race tracks such as TMS are struggling to fill seats. But, Gossage said, that’s something every sport is battling these days.

Watching a sporting event at home typically provides a better view, is more economical and less of a hassle, compared to attending live.

“All sports are dealing with soft attendance," Gossage said. “But no sport comes to a venue that has 150,000 seats but auto racing. And it’s obvious [when there’s empty seats].

“The media just loves to take shots no matter what, but the crowd we had at Texas would’ve filled up [previous NASCAR stops at] Martinsville or California.

“We’ve got 135,000 seats, one of the biggest stadiums on the planet. All of us wish we were sold out, but that’s just not today’s standard." Ft. Worth Telegram