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RIR nears 33rd straight sellout

Friday, May 02, 2008 - 07:06 PM Updated: 11:08 PM

BY LOUIS LLOVIO
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

With less than 24 hours remaining before Richmond International Raceway’s Sprint Cup race, a track official said the race is almost sold out.

“We have about 200 tickets left and we are optimistic that we will have a sellout by tomorrow’s race,” Aimee Turner, RIR’s director of public relations, said about 11 p.m.

The Cup series, NASCAR’s premier series, has been a sellout for 32 consecutive events at RIR — 16 years of two races each year.

This year it has taken longer to sell all 112,029 seats.

If the few remaining seats aren’t all sold tonight, it would be their first time since the sellout streak began that fans would be able to by tickets to the Cup race on race day at RIR.

Ticket prices range from $35 to $110.

For the September and May events last year, a sellout was announced two days before the race. Typically, all tickets have been sold at least a week in advance.

The track has made the goal of selling out more difficult by adding 11,497 seats since 2000. The total — 112,029 — includes 4,932 seats in a tower grandstand built for 2007.

The slower pace of ticket sales could also be attributed to the price of gasoline and other expenses, which could cut down on traveling, NASCAR officials say.

RIR President Doug Fritz said a good portion of attendance comes from people traveling from outside the area.

Windy VanCuren, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said travel agents at the agency reported high demand for rooms this weekend despite sluggish ticket sales.

“The consensus is that it’s hard to find a room. But hotels are not totally sold out,” she said.

RIR hosts two NASCAR race weekends and an Indy Racing League event and support races each year.

Tickets remain for tonight’s Nationwide series stock car race at the track.

. . .

Around the track yesterday, pop-up campers and tour-bus size recreational vehicles were starting to unpack and settle in.

While a tent city of partying NASCAR fans doesn’t give off the impression of an economic downturn, the issue is bubbling under the surface.

Dave Lowe of Frederick, Md., who made his ninth trip to Richmond for the May race, has made adjustments for rising prices.

Lowe said his usual crew of six travelers was cut by two this year. His brother and a friend couldn’t make the trip because they couldn’t afford it.

The total cost of the trip, including tickets, gas and refreshments, is about $1,200. Divided by four, the weekend will cost Lowe about $300.

While he said he can afford the trip, he has cut back.

He set up a satellite dish outside his motor home with chairs and food and will go to tonight’s race but watch tomorrow’s on television.

By watching the race from his makeshift living room, Lowe said he’ll save about $110 and “there’s no line to my bathroom.”

But Lowe said he can see how economic problems can hurt attendance.

“I would imagine [economic problems] are going to start to really affect blue-collar workers,” he said. “It’s going to hurt this crowd in particular.”

. . .

Walking along a dirt path from the Azalea Avenue campground to get a better look at the track, Bill Gingerich and John Lapp of Plain City, Ohio, talked of how attendance has declined in the past year.

This was their first visit to Richmond, but they had been to the Bristol, Tenn., race this year and watched others on TV.

“We can afford [to come] because we’re retired,” Gingerich said. “But for some of the others who don’t have it as easy, this can be too much for them.”

The round trip from Ohio to Virginia will cost nearly $500 in fuel. They expect to spend several hundred more dollars for food, tickets and refreshments.

“It’s not as easy to come out as it was five years ago,” Lapp said.

Gingerich said the up side could mean good things for the locals. “I would hope that if less people are coming, more locals get the chance to come out and see the race,” he said.

Sipping his beer, Lapp added: “If they can afford the tickets.”

Contact Louis Llovio at LLlovio@timesdispatch.com.