Auto Club Speedway Draws More Than 85,000 For Lone Cup Race

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 drew "more than 70,000 customers in the grandstand Sunday, as well as an estimated 15,000 more in the suites and the infield campground," according to Jim Alexander of the Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE.

It "wasn't a sellout," and the "non-sellout streak is now 15." But given the "dreary weather," Auto Club Speedway President Gillian Zucker and her staff are treating the track's lone Cup race this season "as a triumph." Zucker: "It was a great day. I wish the sun had been shining down on it, but other than that there's nothing I would change." Alexander reports tarps "originally covered 13 sections in the upper grandstand and 13 more in the lower grandstand, to reduce capacity and provide some ad signage." But the tarps in the lower grandstand by yesterday morning "had all been removed because of ticket demand," and a "lot of those seats were subsequently filled." Zucker: "There really wasn't a lot (of ticket inventory) left to sell today. It's the best crowd we've had since 2006" Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE.