ALMS sees increased attendance

The trend of increased attendance continued this past weekend at Road America where promoter George Bruggenthies estimated the weekend attendance at more than 100,000 for the four-day doubleheader event featuring the American Le Mans Series and Champ Car. In addition, the Series had its strongest television performance of the year with a 0.7 rating on NBC. Champ Car’s live ABC telecast drew a 0.4.

It was the fifth doubleheader weekend of the year for the Series – St. Petersburg (IRL), Long Beach (Champ Car), Houston (Champ Car), Mid-Ohio (IRL), and by all indications the formula is working.

“If the measure of success is fan response, I think the crowds speak for themselves," says American Le Mans Series President/CEO Scott Atherton. “Any time you put together two major racing series with their unique and shared sets of fans, both series benefit.

“These doubleheaders have enabled us to showcase our world-class cars, teams and drivers with events that are unparalleled on the motorsports calendar. People and companies that have not been exposed to the American Le Mans Series come away not only with a better understanding of what our series is about but with a real appreciation for our exciting style of racing. The last several years have seen increases in all our major benchmarks, and the doubleheader concept is further accelerating that growth even more. It’s the classic case of one plus one equaling three."

Following next week’s Mobil 1 presents Grand Prix of Mosport, the American Le Mans Series has its final doubleheader Labor Day weekend in Detroit with the IndyCar Series. The Series’ sports car feature – the Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch – is Saturday, Sept. 1 while the IRL open wheel classic is Sunday, Sept. 2.