Official attendance figures for this weekend's Verizon IndyCar Series Dual in Detroit have not been released, but the weather "absolutely stunk" for the second year in a row, which "had a definite effect" on the crowds, according to Drew Sharp of the DETROIT FREE PRESS. Penske Corp. Senior VP and race Chair Bud Denker said, "I thought we did the very best we could considering the factors that were certainly working against us." Sharp notes near-flooding conditions "offered more challenges to a race that has already endured more than its rightful share of obstacles the last four years." Denker: "We had a strong turnout despite the conditions. It just tells you how this event has grown in the public's minds and we want to make this even bigger" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/1). In Detroit, Kim Kozlowski notes many event officials "agreed that turnout was low on the last day due to the cold, rainy weather." However, the fans who showed up "were diehards devoted to Detroit." Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder "was among the fans in the crowd" (DETROIT NEWS, 6/1). Also in Detroit, Krupa & Goricki note Denker previously estimated 110,000 fans would come "for the weekend, with 40,000 expected Saturday and Sunday." But attendance yesterday "clearly lagged." Team Penske spokesperson Merrill Cain said that the event "never makes money." However, Krupa & Goricki note there "was good news this year" in the form of corporate sponsorships rising "from 56 to 70." Denker: "You can remember in 2012, a few years back now, we had a pothole problem, out here. We're well beyond those days, now. ... Our revenue stream, 80 percent of it is corporate sponsorship, 20 percent is ticket sales." He added that the corporate chalets "were sold out" (DETROIT NEWS, 6/1).
EVERYTHING'S BIGGER? In Ft. Worth, Drew Davison reports Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage "wanted to send a simple message to IndyCar with the open-wheel circuit returning to town this week" for the Firestone 600. Gossage said, "We need a more competitive race than we had last year. ... It wasn't a very good race last year." Davison notes the racing "has slipped the past couple of years at Texas, featuring mostly single-file racing without close finishes." Meanwhile, TMS "continues to create new concession stand goodies, and is unveiling its latest addition this weekend." Fans "will have the opportunity to buy what the track’s calling a 'loaded hawg dawg.'" It is a foot-long sandwich "with slow-roasted pulled pork with bacon and topped with bacon queso, jalapenos and two mozzarella sticks" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 6/1).
NOT JUST A HILL OF BEANS: In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont wrote the most striking thing about an IndyCar race in the city next year is that it "didn’t get crushed by politics or our typical Bostonian kvetching." Grand Prix of Boston CEO Mark Perrone said Boston Mayor Martin Walsh "certainly helped us." Perrone said that more than four years ago, when he "first trotted his IndyCar idea" to former Mayor Thomas Menino, "the reception there was 'lukewarm, let’s say tepid ... at best.'" This "led him to try to land the race in Providence, only to find a similar political ethos of no." He also "spent nearly two years trying to have the race staged at Gillette Stadium." Perrone said, "It would have been a good event at Gillette, but this is going to be spectacular. The Seaport setting is perfect, and the track, with dips and turns, will be unbelievably exciting" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/31).
