Watkins Glen Int'l President Michael Printup said that the "ever-latening" start times of the annual Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at the track "has him concerned," according to Andrew Legare of the Elmira STAR-GAZETTE. Sunday's race started at 3:18pm ET, nearly 30 minutes later than last year. That followed scheduled starts of 2:18pm in '15 and 1:19pm in '14. Fans let Printup "know about their frustrations Saturday morning" during a meet and greet. Printup then "relayed those concerns to NASCAR and pulled no punches" following the race. He said of the mid-afternoon start, "Absolutely ridiculous for our fans and I have no problem saying that. When you’re doing what we’re doing -- and this is not an arrogant statement -- you can stand on a pedestal and say we’re selling out and then I’ve got 1,000 out of 4,000 the other day telling me they’re not coming back because of start time, if it’s that late. That’s concerning because it means we’re not selling out if that happens." Legare noted Sunday's 90-lap race finished at 5:29pm with "only one caution beyond the two built-in stage stops." Races at WGI that have "seen red-flag stoppages in recent years have lasted around three hours." Meanwhile, the grandstand sellout Sunday "represented close to 39,000 seats." Printup said that there were "another 15,000 to 16,000 general admission tickets sold, in addition to several thousand campers." Printup said that it is "possible they could add pockets of seating" to supplement the grandstands, but "nothing major" is on the agenda (Elmira STAR-GAZETTE, 8/8).
RUNNING OUT OF GAS AT THE END: Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 37th and last in Sunday's race, and in Richmond, Randy Hallman writes Earnhardt farewell tour this season is "devolving into a series of sad sendoffs." Fans "show up with their No. 88 T-shirts and infinitely high hopes," but Earnhardt has just one top 5 finish all year. This season has been "nowhere close to the triumphant last go-round for which Earnhardt and his fans had hoped" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 8/8).
