Daytona 500 not immune from recession's squeeze

By the end of January last year, every grandstand ticket for the Daytona 500 was sold out. Now, with that anniversary rapidly approaching, Daytona International Speedway president Robin Braig looks around his mammoth 2.5-mile facility and sees much of a backstretch -- or "superstretch," in Daytona-speak -- yet to be filled.

Empty seats for NASCAR's biggest race? There's still more than a month remaining before the engines fire and the pursuit of the Harley J. Earl Trophy begins, but less-than-robust ticket sales for the Daytona 500 stand as another gloomy reminder of the current economic environment. The 2008 season ended with teams merging with one another and hundreds of race team employees being laid off. The 2009 season could conceivably begin with some vacant seats sprinkled among the many thousands in attendance for the Great American Race.

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Also

• Richmond drops prices for May
• 'Dega reducing for both races
• Darlington lowers its prices
• Atlanta offering payment plan

Braig said Friday that Daytona has sold roughly 110,000 of the track's 168,000 seats, and that he's expecting a full house on Feb. 15. But he's a track operator, and track operators worry. "Oh, absolutely," he said. "We were sold out last year at this time." Which is why Daytona has announced that a limited number of backstretch tickets have been reduced from $99 to $55, the lowest price for a Daytona 500 ticket since 1995.

Braig and his staff watched as Walt Disney World in Orlando awarded free nights at its hotels, as the NFL lowered ticket prices by 10 percent, as the recent Dolphins-Ravens playoff game in Miami featured a multitude of empty seats. In a crowded and competitive Florida entertainment market, Daytona couldn't stand still.

"That's when it really hit us," Braig said. "You know what, our sales are lagging, we're probably not going to get caught up, and we've got to find a price point that matches with the NASCAR fans that still want to come to the 500."

Daytona isn't alone. NASCAR's marquee facility is one of a handful of race tracks that have dropped ticket prices in the wake of the recession, trying to generate business in an environment not exactly conducive to discretionary spending. Darlington has reduced about 9,000 tickets for the Southern 500 to $35. Talladega has lowered the price of about 20,000 seats to $40 each. Richmond just announced Friday that it is "restructuring" ticket prices for 18,000 seats. Atlanta is offering payment plans. As of last month, Bristol -- yes, Bristol -- made a limited amount of season tickets available to the public for the first time since Speedway Motorsports Inc. bought the short track in 1996. (Continued)