NASCAR’s wieldy syringe gives economy shot in arm

Remember when NASCAR was going great guns and Americans had three chickens in every pot and Las Vegas Motor Speedway had to set up the Jimmy "Smut" Means Bleachers in Turn 3 to accommodate an overflow crowd?

Actually, those bleachers weren't named for Smut Means. But because virtually all the other grandstands around the 1.5-mile oval are named for a NASCAR driver, those bleachers should have a name, too. Like Means' driving record, they were a tad on the pedestrian side.

Today, NASCAR's guns aren't blazing quite as brightly, at least not at most of the tracks beyond its traditional sphere of influence.

These would include most superspeedways on the other side of Charles Mason's and Jeremiah Dixon's line that separates Maryland from Pennsylvania and the Monster Mile in Delaware. As well as speedways not so super. Such as North Wilkesboro in North Carolina, which doesn't have a NASCAR race anymore but probably should, at least if you ask the great Junior Johnson who grew up there.

NASCAR is still hugely popular. It still does well against the stick-and-ball sports, especially when the No. 88 car runs out front. It's just that most Americans these days are lucky to have one chicken in their pot. Those big RVs in which they travel from race to race don't go far on one chicken.

Until the economy does a hole shot, one should get accustomed to empty seats in these gargantuan houses that NASCAR has built, regardless of how many times Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 runs out front.

Last week, Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., was lucky if half of its 92,000 seats were filled.

But that's Fontana. Fontana never draws because what do you do when qualifying is over? Drive to San Bernardino?

It'll be better in Las Vegas, everyone said. It'll be great in Las Vegas, because it's always great in Las Vegas, at least if you ask ol' Darrell Waltrip and everyone in the Neon Garage wearing those $100 jackets with a big No. 88 on back.

It was better in Las Vegas. It was great in Las Vegas. Not as great as 2007, when the crowd was estimated at a record 156,000. Maybe not even as great as last year, when 140,000 were on hand. But impressive in any other way, especially in comparison to Fontana.

LVMS announced a ninth consecutive sellout. That was like the groove race winner Jimmie Johnson was running. A little on the high side. If you thought the No. 88 car was a no-show, you should have checked Turn 3.

But other than out there and in the infield media center -- newspapers and dot-coms don't have as many chickens in their pots, either -- the vast majority of seats had rear ends in them. The vast majority of seats at LVMS is still a lot.

Speedway officials approached this year's race as A.J. Foyt did his race cars. They kept banging on it until they got it right.

The biggest adjustment was cheap seats on Sunday. When ticket renewals slowed to a trickle, it was decided that everything must go for the low, low price of $49. Current ticket prices will remain in effect. If you renew before April 9, you'll even get 10 percent off what you paid this year.

That means one can bear witness to the biggest -- and loudest -- sporting event in Southern Nevada for as low as $44. It costs almost that much to take a significant other to a Will Ferrell movie and a quesadilla at T.G.I. Friday's.

Yes, there is a risk one might encounter Kim Kardashian or Carrot Top in the garage area. But NASCAR for $44 is still a pretty good deal.

"The parallel is comparable to the city we live in," LVMS president Chris Powell said before the motor homes and their high-tech beer coolers began rolling in. "Things look down today because things looked so wonderful five years ago."

As far as that sellout he sort of predicted, maybe it came up two tires short, like Jeff Gordon in the closing laps on Sunday. But coming up a little short is a matter of perspective. More people watched the Shelby American than watched Alabama play Florida in football, if that changes yours any.

For a local economy that needs a shot in the arm, NASCAR still wields a pretty big syringe.

"The sport is still strong," Powell said. "Las Vegas is still strong. I think you'll see evidence of that."

I did.

Just not quite enough to ask Kim Kardashian and Carrot Top to meet me in the Jimmy Means Bleachers.

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352.