So... Just how bad is it?

crewguy

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Oct 17, 2008
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According to the interview I heard on Sirius- They never completely sold out the races there. I was shocked to hear that, considering I have always heard that you could not buy a ticket. Maybe he was talking about season tickets........
 

mccastle

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Oct 24, 2008
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I heard the same interview and he said a lot of the season tickets now available are blocks of tickets companies have held and now those companies are cutting costs they can not justify holding on to thel tickets.
 

dpkimmel2001

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Nov 6, 2008
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I didn't hear the interview that you're talking about but I've had spring tickets to Bristol for years. For some reason, you could get the spring race tickets but they did not sell individual tickets to the fall race. At one point they must have sold tickets to both race individually, but the fall race ticket holders wouldn't give theirs up. The only way that you could get fall tickets is to buy season tickets. I've since gotten my season tickets. The only catch is that you have to get the Nationwide seats as well. In the past, that wasn't the case. Recently I received a mailing from them that many season tickets are now available. I just wanted to give you all a 'heads up' on that news in case you wanted to make some money. People are still buying them on EBay even though they are available from the track.
 

mccastle

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Oct 24, 2008
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I didn't hear the interview that you're talking about but I've had spring tickets to Bristol for years. For some reason, you could get the spring race tickets but they did not sell individual tickets to the fall race. At one point they must have sold tickets to both race individually, but the fall race ticket holders wouldn't give theirs up. The only way that you could get fall tickets is to buy season tickets. I've since gotten my season tickets. The only catch is that you have to get the Nationwide seats as well. In the past, that wasn't the case. Recently I received a mailing from them that many season tickets are now available. I just wanted to give you all a 'heads up' on that news in case you wanted to make some money. People are still buying them on EBay even though they are available from the track.

Reading this sentence brings up another topic...why would someone not want to buy nationwide tickets? I think those races are just as exciting. I know a lot of people hate the fact that the cuppers raid nationwide but I see it as a advantage to have two chances to see the cup talent. I was extremely thrilled to see Tony Stewart win the nationwide race at Talladega in April. I know when it comes to what you are available to spend your money on most would choose the cup race. I just see it as a extra perk.
 

brett1963

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Oct 30, 2008
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I've never had a problem getting Bristol tickets and thats at or near face value. The corner sections and new Wallace grandstand are the cheapest. It would be interesting to know what
type seats Bristol is offering for sale.
 

dpkimmel2001

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Nov 6, 2008
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Reading this sentence brings up another topic...why would someone not want to buy nationwide tickets? I think those races are just as exciting. I know a lot of people hate the fact that the cuppers raid nationwide but I see it as a advantage to have two chances to see the cup talent. I was extremely thrilled to see Tony Stewart win the nationwide race at Talladega in April. I know when it comes to what you are available to spend your money on most would choose the cup race. I just see it as a extra perk.

For me and my family of four it's the cost. Yes, they are exciting but they add up fast. I just gave up four of the absolute best seats @ Richmond because of the cost. In order to keep the seats that I had, they wanted me to buy the Nationwide events and the IRL weekend in addition to the cup seats. I did that for two years and I ate the cost of the IRL weekends both of those years. I could not even sell the tickets at the $200 cost of the four seats. None of my friends are IRL fans so I couldn't even give them away.
 

dpkimmel2001

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Nov 6, 2008
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I've never had a problem getting Bristol tickets and thats at or near face value. The corner sections and new Wallace grandstand are the cheapest. It would be interesting to know what
type seats Bristol is offering for sale.

I never meant to imply that it is hard to get tickets. They can be purchased most everywhere with the exception of the track. There are so many of them available through eBay, it's not hard to get them at or near face value. I've sold my seats several times at cost just to get my money back. Even though I could, I've never sold them just to make some extra money.

I have season tickets in the Yarborough Terrace that are isle seats. I called last week to see if I could get more seats in my section & I was told that it was no problem. I did not ask about the sections that you mentioned.
 

Easy Money

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Oct 25, 2008
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I also havent had any problems getting Bristol seats at face value. The tracks hype up the crowd numbers for some stupid reason. I guess they think it gives the impression that you cant get a ticket. Seems kinda backwards to me. Ive been at Talladega during about 3 record setting crowds.(supposedly) I havent tried to go to an event yet that I couldnt get tickets to. And no, I havent tried the superbowl. But you can get a ticket to any nascar race @ face value with very little effort. At least thats my experience.
 

Snafam

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Oct 31, 2008
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I keep hearing speculation that tracks will lower ticket prices. I hope so, but if that is true, then I am really, umm....well, screwed!

You see, I have tix to Vegas, and have managed to get great seats every year, by upgrading through their system. Each year, I have taken my previous seats, and then walked in and worked with them to get better seats. I now have great seats, and I am not giving them up!

The problem comes in, that all of this process took place in May, two months after last year's race, and 7 months before the new year. And, it took place long before the economy tanked in the last few months of the year.

Why will I feel 'used and abused?" I paid full price for those tix, and now tracks everywhere may be revising their prices. Do I really expect LVMS to give me a refund if they lower the prices for the rest of the tix? Somehow, I don't think so!
 

dpkimmel2001

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Nov 6, 2008
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I keep hearing speculation that tracks will lower ticket prices. I hope so, but if that is true, then I am really, umm....well, screwed!

If they do end up lowering the price of their tickets, it probably wouldn't be the seats that you worked you way up to. They will probably create some kind of special package deal for the less expensive seats. If they do end up selling your level of seats for a less amount, I'd call and see if you can have them apply the difference in price to the next year. Some of these tracks are starting to realize how important the fans money is and are willing to work with you.

I can only comment on experiences that we have with a few of the tracks that we go or have gone to.

Bristol has always expected payment in full well in advance of the race. They now seem to be trying to work more with fans by setting up a payment plan for their seats. They accept payments if you call.

Dover sends us the invoice for the following year one week after the spring event. In their case, they only require a 25% deposit and full payment by February the year of the race. They've done this for the 10+ years that we've been going there. They accept payments if you call.

Richmond required payment in full well in advance of the season. These were the most expensive seats that we had to any track and I was never able to work out any kind of payment plan with them. This was my favorite track to go to but for their lack of a payment plan and their IRL requirement we no longer will be going there. :bigcry:

Each week or weekend that we go to one of these events, it's a huge investment. We try to budget so that we can continue to attend but it is getting harder and harder each year. Last year we attended five races. For us, each race averages about 1000 miles of travel to/from & around the local area. We were paying over $4/gal last year, sometime over $5. (Diesel) We are cutting back to three races this year and maybe even two if I decide to sell my spring Bristol tickets. I love the sport but we're going to have to start supporting it from home in front of the TV. :(
 

mccastle

Member
Oct 24, 2008
327
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I keep hearing speculation that tracks will lower ticket prices. I hope so, but if that is true, then I am really, umm....well, screwed!

You see, I have tix to Vegas, and have managed to get great seats every year, by upgrading through their system. Each year, I have taken my previous seats, and then walked in and worked with them to get better seats. I now have great seats, and I am not giving them up!

The problem comes in, that all of this process took place in May, two months after last year's race, and 7 months before the new year. And, it took place long before the economy tanked in the last few months of the year.

Why will I feel 'used and abused?" I paid full price for those tix, and now tracks everywhere may be revising their prices. Do I really expect LVMS to give me a refund if they lower the prices for the rest of the tix? Somehow, I don't think so!

I would think that they would comp the people that renewed their tickets many months ago. Meaning throwing in drink vouchers, tix to nationwide or something like that. I know at Talladega I renewed my tickets the last day I could and I got 2 free ARCA tixs. I know big deal cause I am sure they are not very expensive. At least give the loyal fans that renewed early some sort of perk. Wishful thinking I am sure.
 

Snafam

Member
Oct 31, 2008
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I am not holding my breath on any comps coming out of there. As far as other races, if you buy the spring races, you already get tix for the truck race in the fall. We already get our tickets for the whole spring weekend, so there are no other races there!

LVMS does have a payment set up. Half down, and the final half by Sept. This year, they extended that time until the 1st week of November.

It will be interesting to see what the stands look like this year. Vegas has sold out almost every year for the last 5 years. Last year, they claimed a 'virtual' sell out, meaning that only single seats were available.