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  1. #41
    Senior Member garyshell's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rex Monaco
    Where were the fans in the stands? Does anyone know how many people Sears Point holds? If those stands were at 10% of capacity, I'd be very surprised.

    Which stands? The ones near the pits seemed rather full. The ones up the hill were quite sparce.

    Gary
    "If you think there's a solution, you're part of the problem." --- George Carlin :andrea: R.I.P.

  2. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by garyshell
    Which stands? The ones near the pits seemed rather full. The ones up the hill were quite sparce.

    Gary
    I was only able to watch the last 20 laps. So the only time I saw the pit stands was at the end when Helio climbed the 'fence' and it seemed to be about 70% of capacity. Maybe those people left early?
    "For 80 years this place has run on tradition. From today forward it will run as a business." - Tony George (Failed businessman)

  3. #43
    Senior Member garyshell's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by garyshell
    Which stands? The ones near the pits seemed rather full. The ones up the hill were quite sparce.

    Gary
    Quote Originally Posted by Rex Monaco
    I was only able to watch the last 20 laps. So the only time I saw the pit stands was at the end when Helio climbed the 'fence' and it seemed to be about 70% of capacity. Maybe those people left early?

    I meant relative to the other stand the pit ones seemed rather full. Never got a full view of the pit road ones, so I can venture a guess there. The ones up the hill though (terrace stands???) were in full view a few times and they were sparce at best. Damn near a ghost town.

    Gary
    "If you think there's a solution, you're part of the problem." --- George Carlin :andrea: R.I.P.

  4. #44
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    I was at the race yesterday, and the crowd was good, far better than when I saw the ALMS there in 2001, and 2005. It is hard to guess at crowd size as spread out as things are there, but my guess would be in the neighborhood of 40K or so. I know there was still a line of traffic leaving the track even at 7:30pm when I left.

    As to the race itself...not much to write home about. It was interesting to see how pit strategy played out, but it was pretty clear it was the Ryan and Helio show. Danica had good pace all race until the last stint when Wheldon came out of the pits ahead of her and steadily increased the gap. Prior to that Danica had held him at bay fairly easily. I imagine the 60+ lap green flag run had her sucking wind towards the end of the race.
    Racing season is soon upon us!:smokin:

  5. #45
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    Three thoughts:

    Way to go Spiderman. Now go get Detroit.

    Can't quite place my finger on it but there is something about that track I've never liked. Seems boring and second class.

    Danica drove a very strong race and was lapping nicely with Servia for an extended stretch. Not perfect, but certainly professional and deserving of being there. There are two crowds out of touch about Dancia.
    YOUR FAVORITE DRIVER...
    is not half bad now that I think about it.

  6. #46
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    Great job HVM & EJV. Worked their way up the field to finish a strong 6th, & EJ earned The Hard Charger Award

    Great to see Helio get another long overdue win.. he's a breath of fresh air in the paddock... always has been, even since his BF3 days. Hopefully he can repeat in Detroit... if Viso can't take the win that is

  7. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by nickfalzone
    The IRL has never had to "buy" tv time, and they shouldn't simply because ESPN lets earlier events run long. How about this - move LPGA over to "classic" when IRL preshow starts. It's not like anyone was watching that playoff anyway.
    Probably more watching the LPGA then the IRL but asside from that, Whoever buys the time slot and runs over gets to run over.
    :dork: 1 of Original 100 Members

  8. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by usgrandprix

    Can't quite place my finger on it but there is something about that track I've never liked. Seems boring and second class.
    It's a great drivers track, but it sucks for TV. A good friend of mine I grew up with used to be an instructor there so I've had the opportunity to drive the track a few times. It looks like what it is, basically holding a professional race on a driving school track. All the different configurations and dirt everywhere just looks bush league. Sure, maybe it's great for the primary use of the place, but it just looks like they can't decide where they should run. Maybe if the great state of California would allow them to use a little water here and there, they could plant some grass around the place. I know it's basically at the mercy of the local climate, but compare it visually to somewhere like Watkin's glen, Barber MSP or Road America. I'd also like to see them decide on one or two configurations and stick to it, then remove all of the old unused tarmack. Preferrably, I'd rather see them just move the race to Laguna Seca. Same problem with lack of moisture for the landscape , but worlds different visually in my opinion.
    HINCHTOWN!!

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