Atlanta rainout could cost SMI $1 million

The economic fallout from the rainout at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which pushed the Golden Corral 500 to a Monday start and cut the crowd to about a third of what track officials expected, began a week ago and will continue for months, maybe even years. AMS president Ed Clark said his extra costs for another day of clean-up and staffing runs into six figures, because the track typically employs 5,000 part-timers and 63 full-time employees. "We won't know exactly for a while, but it's substantial," Clark said, adding that lost revenue from concessions and souvenirs easily could top $1 million. Atlanta Journal-Constitution