Champ Car will still dwarf NASCAR in Mexico

UPDATE #2 The race was a boost for NASCAR's effort to build a new fan base in Mexico, where open-wheel racing has been dominant. Promoters said a healthy 94,229 people turned out on race day following a 38,319 crowd for Saturday's qualifying. "This could become the marquee event for the series,'' said Robbie Weiss, NASCAR's chief of international business. But he said no contract had yet been signed for next year. ESPN 03/06/05 This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' today as the Mexico NASCAR attendance was announced as 110,000, about 50% of the Champ Car attendance. Still, not bad for a Busch Series race. Weekend attendance was announced as 150,000, vs. the record for Champ Car of 411,000. 03/04/05 Contrary to all the hype by the NASCAR frenzied USA media, it appears that the NASCAR Busch race in Mexico City this weekend will be big, but small in comparison to Champ Car. According to this FOX/AP article, The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez opened in 1963 as a stop on the globe-hopping Formula One series. After a decade of inactivity, it underwent a $30 million renovation to host a CART (now Champ Car) race in 2002. The following year, CART drew more than 400,000 for its three-day weekend, including an astonishing turnout of 221,000 on race day. NASCAR isn't likely to attract those sort of crowds, with its Web site predicting a turnout of 60,000 for the 200-mile race. Felix Sabates is expecting much larger crowds. He said at least 125,000 tickets have been sold and predicted up to 300,000 for the entire weekend.