NASCAR Cuts Costs, but What about the Cost to Fans?

Empty seats? NASCAR doesn't want to see this at the races.

How can a person try to justify going to the races, when some can't even pay their mortgages these days?

Times were good last year and race fans renewed their tickets to the next race they had been attending yearly, no matter what the cost. They want to be locked in to their favorite seats for years to come, and you just can't give up that RV spot or next time you try to get one you'll be out in the sticks.

How fun is it to go when you can barely afford the gas to get there, much less miss out on all the new T-shirts and hats your driver comes out with, the ones you just have to have?

Drivers have changed numbers. Owners have combined teams. Heck, in the last seven years, my driver alone has been a part of three different teams.  Fans enjoy their favorite sports figures, and enjoy collecting memorabilia.

Let's just say it's getting hard.

Here is an example of some of the costs you might have. At Phoenix International Raceway, your RV spot costs $170 for the race week tickets, not to mention food and frosty beverages for the week, pit passes, a purchase of a hat and t-shirt, and of course the time off work and the cost of getting there.

This all adds up quickly. And you don't want to go if you're going to come back home to eating beans for two weeks straight.

I have a real problem paying top dollar for my seats and then seeing better deals out there because tracks are seeing empty seats and giving last minute offers. I also have a problem with paying $7 for a beer and $4 for a bottle of water at tracks like PIR, where you are not allowed to bring in your own beer.

They could lower these costs.

Whoever is in charge of these costs needs to make it more efficient to race fans. I will be doing things myself to cut costs, such as preparing my weekly menu. This may include cheaper things such as hot dogs, hamburgers (instead of steaks), potatoes, water instead of Gatorade. 

No, not Keystone instead of Budlight, I can't manage that one. But hey, I will do what I can.

Okay, I might even bring beans. There is nothing wrong with that and I might not go to the pits this year.

We look so forward to our race vacation at PIR, but we need a little help from the "Big Guys" these days.

The races Iv'e been watching seem to have a lot more open seating than these tracks have had in the past. Start with the fans and it might trickle up, but without them, where would we all be?

Ang