Hamlin comments on smaller crowd at Richmond (Update)

Some parts of the grandstands were rather empty. When are they going to learn that two races a year at most NASCAR tracks are too many?

UPDATE Richmond Int’l Raceway, which has been trimmed to around 60,000 seats, was "half-full at its peak" for yesterday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Toyota Owners 400 and "far emptier" when Joey Logano crossed the finish line. Driver Denny Hamlin said, "It’s 90 degrees and the coverage on TV is pretty excellent." Attendance is a "pressing concern" for RIR President Dennis Bickmeier. He said that "‘everything’s on the table,' including a potential move back to night racing. RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH

05/01/17 RICHMOND, Va. – The grandstands were scattered with numerous bare spots Sunday at Richmond International Raceway, at least compared with marquee races and events.

The Toyota Owners 400 is no different than any other race, though. A win is still a win, and the drivers are still awarded NASCAR's new stage points. So why were so many seats not filled?

NASCAR's inconsistent TV ratings and attendance numbers are frequently talked about, and Denny Hamlin was asked about the empty seats after his No. 11 Toyota finished third behind Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.

Hamlin – who beyond NASCAR loves the NBA – gave a perfect response to the question and remains the king of pointing out the obvious.

"It's 90 degrees and coverage on TV's pretty excellent, so it's tough to sit in the bleachers when it's 90, but who knows? I think that there's more to it than just people not watching NASCAR. I think sports in general are way, way down. Attendance is down in a lot of other sports as well. It's just viewing sports is different now than what it's ever been.

"People with smartphones – they're watching races and they're watching games in the back of their car going up the highway. You don't have to attend these races anymore. You get such a good experience through your cellphone, so the way we measure attendance and we measure TV ratings and all that – it's always skewed because we live in a different world now."

Good point. It was painfully hot Sunday afternoon. USA Today