[racerkeke]

I think the issue is not how many people were listed as attending but how many were PAID attendees -- and paid without coercion. Both the IRL and Champ give away tickets (to celebs, to radio stations for contests, etc.), but I don't believe Champ has yet stooped as low as the IRL at Vegas, where they gave away tickets as freebies to casino players. Or like at many ISC tracks, where people who have had the same seats for the same NASCAR races every year were told that they could no longer have them... unless they also bought tickets for the IRL race at the same track.

I consider the IRL's attendance figures suspect, and not just because I'm a Champ fan. And to bring this back to the topic of Long Beach, the weather has more to do with how many show up than anything else, IMO. If the weather's crappy (like three years ago) people stay home. I think that's true for many outdoor events in the LA area.

Looking forward to seeing Racegypsy and many of our other 10th-10ths friends there,

keke