Smack: The blame game (cont'd)

3. Usually a lock-solid full house, this year Richmond became a sellout only on race day. Bigger tracks are struggling to sell tickets. How big a bite can this economy take out of NASCAR?

Joe Menzer: Well, I had a nice, long chat with Humpy Wheeler, who runs Lowe's Motor Speedway just outside of Charlotte, the other day -- and of course that was one of the subjects we broached.

Raygan Swan: Well, maybe Hillary can get the gas tax suspended so fans can afford to drive. The economy is going to make an impact. But ratings are up slightly, maybe because more people are staying home and watching.

If you're going to Lowe's Motor Speedway, expect something out of the ordinary.

David Caraviello: Raygan, I think that's exactly what's happening. The television ratings are up, but at the expense of grandstand seats. I've been in this gig for almost 10 years now -- and I can't ever remember Richmond taking until race day to sell out. Darlington has a nice little streak of three in a row, and that may be in jeopardy. But the big tracks, those like Charlotte with way over 100,000 seats, are the ones really sweating it.

Joe Menzer: Hillary? Is she still in the race? I thought after losing North Carolina, she was all but officially finished! I do believe John McCain may have had that gas tax idea first, by the way.

Raygan Swan: She won Indiana!

Joe Menzer: Um, yeah, but by the hair of her chinny-chin-chin. (She does have chin hair, I think). But she lost the more important state.

Raygan Swan: Oh believe me, I'm going for McCain but Hillary and Obama are the only people on the news these days, kind of like when Junior was a free agent. No one wants to talk about anyone else. So what else did Humpy have to say?

Joe Menzer: Yes, before we digress too much further into the politics of the land, let's talk more about the economics of NASCAR these days. All the track operators are well aware of the pinch fans are feeling at home -- not only in gas prices now, but in groceries and all across the board. It's giving them less and less to spend on entertainment -- like going to races.

Raygan Swan: Both painful subjects to talk about let alone debate. So track owners will suffer the most here.

Joe Menzer: Amen, sister. Anyway, Humpy has always lived by the philosophy that a quick nickel is better than a slow dime. So he has slashed ticket prices, which is about all he can do outside of also making sure all the other stuff is top-notch -- which it always is at Charlotte.

Raygan Swan: All you can eat grandstands? Those rock!

Joe Menzer: Plus, you know he's going to blow some stuff up before the Coca-Cola 600! Humpy said he's going back to the 1980s and he's not sure what battle is going to be re-enacted in the infield, but it's going to be really something. Lots of explosions, attack helicopters, troops running around. Good stuff. Oh, then there are the races. Not just the 600, but also the All-Star Race. And by the way, ticket sales shot up for that after the Junior-Kyle incident at Richmond.

David Caraviello: Ah, Kyle Busch, a track promoter's best friend. My favorite Humpy pre-race show was when he had aircraft on a mock strafing run over what appeared to be a South Asian enemy village. As planes flew low over the speedway, little grass huts in the infield blew up. Brilliant, if not quite politically correct.

Raygan Swan: I can't wait, and on the subject of gas prices, fans should remember they can get better fuel mileage if they don't run the A/C and have their tires full of air.

David Caraviello: Does Raygan moonlight at a GM dealership? She's Mrs. Goodwrench!

Joe Menzer: Geez, it's starting to sound like I'm trying to sell tickets for Humpy and you're trying to sell memberships to AAA.

"The Sound of Music" starring NASCAR.COM's Raygan Swan and David Caraviello.

Raygan Swan: That's all I have for the economy right now. I've been riding my bike to the grocery lately!

Joe Menzer: As much as you cook, I'm sure, it's hard to believe you can pile all those groceries on the back of a bike.

Raygan Swan: No piling, you gotta hang them on your handle bars. it messes with your steering but you do what you gotta do.

David Caraviello: Do all those groceries give your bicycle an aero push? Is it a little free off the center?

Joe Menzer: I thought maybe you had a basket on the back -- or the front, like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music.

Raygan Swan: Ummm, no, that's over-the-top nerdy!

Joe Menzer: I could see you playing the role of a nun gone bad. You ever play that one in drama class?

Raygan Swan: Nope! No acting in my resume yet, but DC perhaps?

Joe Menzer: Oh, yeah ... what was the dude's name in Sound of Music, the guy who turned the nun bad? That's got Caraviello written all over it.

David Caraviello: I do act like a writer sometimes. But play Christopher Plummer's role as Captain von Trapp?

Joe Menzer: That's something NASCAR fans would pay to see, no matter what the gas or ticket prices!

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers