Crowds smaller at 2009 Brickyard

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (WISH) - Tens of thousands of race fans packed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday for the 2009 Allstate Brickyard 400.

Crowds this year were noticeably smaller; traffic into the track was much less than the Indianapolis 500 in May. The infield, which usually fills up by 9 a.m., did not close to traffic until almost noon, and the usual race day delays were hard to come by.

Track officials said they expected some stands to only be two-thirds full for Sunday’s race. The economy and problems with last year’s race is the most likely reasons fans stayed home this year.

Despite the smaller crowds, workers made their way to the track early Sunday morning. Employees of the Plaza Gift Shop got ready for what they hoped would be big business.

“Sales have been strong so far this weekend so we're looking for a good day today,” said Jason Orton.

A good day for them means dollars and cents, a good day for fans means something entirely different – the sounds of cars on the track.

For Speedway President Joie Chitwood, this will be his last race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He had been at the Speedway for over a dozen years at in Indianapolis.

Chitwood will be leaving his position with Speedway in early August to take a job with the International Speedway Corporation’s Daytona Beach headquarters.

“I'm just excited to be a part of this special facility, it's been a great run and looking forward to what's next,” Chitwood said.

Track officials hoped that Sunday’s good weather may help turn out more fans for the race.

“The weather is great, after the nasty weather we had yesterday with the sun up and how bright it is outside, as you can see from the picnic tables people came in ready to eat and have a good time, said Denny Newman.