OFF TO THE RACES: WERE EMPTY SEATS SPOTTED AT INDY 500?

          Memorial Day weekend's racing schedule saw the 82nd
     running of the Indy 500 on Sunday, the CART Motorola 300 on
     Saturday and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night.  In
     Indy, Robin Miller wrote that for the "first time in my 35
     years at IMS, empty seats were noticeable on race day." 
     While IMS, in traditional fashion, gave no attendance
     figure, Miller puts his "unofficial estimate" at around
     290,000, down from the usual 330,000 to 350,000.  Miller
     added that while it is "still the largest gathering in
     motorsports," interest in the Indy 500 "continues to
     decline" (STAR-NEWS, 5/25).  In Cincinnati, Tom Groeschen
     wrote that Indy "still can claim to be the largest one-day
     sporting event in America" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 5/26). 
          AT GATEWAY: In St. Louis, Christopher Carey reports
     that racing teams and fans who came to Saturday's Motorola
     300 at Gateway Int'l Raceway spent "about" $6.7M at hotels,
     restaurants and other businesses in the area.  The total
     impact of the race, including the "multiplier effect," will
     bring $16.9M to the local economy over three days, a 12.7%
     increase over last year's race.  Saturday's attendance was
     around 60,000 (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/24).