Many of them, too, feel such a disconnect to today’s NASCAR that they’ve decided the show isn’t wort

There was no good reason to sell tickets for the backstretch grandstand for Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, where, when the green flag dropped, there were still more than a few seats available in the main grandstand.
cheap ticket prices But those 57,000 empty seats on the backstretch for stock-car racing's showcase summer event at the sport's most celebrated track were telling -- and what they said had as much to do with NASCAR's greed than the nation's sputtering economy.
Except this: As NASCAR raced into the mainstream and onto Madison Avenue, it deserted its blue-collar, good-ol'-boy roots and left behind the longtime fans who faithfully supported cheap ticket prices a sport -- through good times and bad -- that was as much a part of their culture as country music and pickup trucks.
cheap ticket prices It was a mistake to chase the fast money at the expense of too many lifelong NASCAR fans that couldn't help but feel they were taken for granted -- and, in some cases, still struggle to recognize a sport that has seen a run of changes during the past decade.
For many of them, the novelty is gone. Not nearly as emotionally invested in the sport as hardcore fans in Dixie, they soon became bored with watching guys drive fast and turn left. And in a bad economy, lukewarm fans are deciding to stay home rather than spend big to attend races.
Many of them, too, feel such a disconnect to today's NASCAR that they've decided the show isn't worth the cost of going to races -- tickets and parking, travel and hotels, food and drink -- especially cheap ticket prices in tough economic times.
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