Andretti Sports Marketing Managing Dir Kevin Healy, whose company promotes the IndyCar event at the Milwaukee Mile, said attendance for yesterday's race was "way more" than an estimated 12,000, and later added that sales "may even have been slightly higher than last year’s, although he didn’t provide numbers," according to Dave Kallmann of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Last year's Verizon IndyCar Series ABC Supply Co. Wisconsin 250 was estimated by state officials to have between 25,000-30,000 fans, and crowds "haven’t come close" to ASM Chair & CEO Michael Andretti’s "hopes for a full house when he took over as event promoter" in '12. ASM and IndyCar "have been discussing the future of the event." Yesterday's race winner Sebastian Bourdais said, "There’s a lot of money and energy put together to keep that event" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 7/13). Healy called the crowd "good." He added that there "were a good number of people in the infield." However, NBCSPORTS.com's Tony DiZinno reported Andretti "was less than enthusiastic" about the crowd number. He said, "OK, not great. We’ll have to evaluate and make a decision." Andretti added of good weather yesterday, "There’s no excuse there right? I don’t know why the fans don’t come out. I don’t think there’s anywhere you could have gone in town that you didn’t know the race was on. I don’t know." Bourdais: "We had a good crowd today. I know people are trying to make it work. ... The sporting side and financial side is always very challenging" (NBCSPORTS.com, 7/12). In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin writes Andretti "got about everything he could hope for" on Sunday. Cavin: "The weather was warmer than expected, but there was no threat of rain. The entertainment around the actual race was festive, and the ticket buyers seemed to respond. The racing was good, too. This is a bottom-line business. If the numbers add up, Milwaukee will be on IndyCar's 2016 schedule (and it doesn't matter what happens with nearby Road America). If they don't, it's been a heck of a run" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 7/13).
