SMI President & COO Marcus Smith said Las Vegas Motor Speedway's focus is on "capturing the next generation of race fans," according to Alan Snel of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Snel noted the company will "put that business strategy to use" at this weekend's NASCAR races. LVMS Dir of Communications Jeff Motley said that grandstand tickets for children 15 and younger "will be $24.50 -- half the regular $49 cost." He added that children 15 and younger also can "enter the Neon Garage for free ... instead of paying the $49 charge." Motley: "We're trying to make it easier for kids to make it to the track. We want to make it more affordable for families to come to a race." UNLV professor Nancy Lough, who discussed with her class ways to attract a younger audience at the track, said that some of her students "suggested selling the tailgating and carnival-spectacle feel." Lough said the students were "interested in what was happening, but they wanted to be more mobile during the race, yet still watch it, almost in a sportsbarlike atmosphere" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/7). LVMS President & GM Chris Powell said, "We've certainly reviewed every nook and cranny about the speedway and about the catch fence that we have. We keep up with that very closely and we listen to whatever NASCAR might have to say in that regard." He added, "I have been a little bit pleasantly surprised [at] the few number of fans that have called asking any questions. I think NASCAR fans are wise enough to know that what happened at Daytona was a few and far between incident and I'm certainly optimistic that we won't have any kind of incident." Powell reiterated he was "pleasantly surprised that fans do not seem to be concerned that they're in a dangerous situation" ("NASCAR Now," ESPN2, 3/6).
