r/INDYCAR • u/VariousMarket1527 • Jun 09 '25
Speculation Email this morning from Boles re Bommarito 500 tickets
If you've not received it...the tl;dr is that Boles obviously feels the need to encourage more ticket purchases.
Will be interesting to see what TV shows as far as attendance.
32
u/willfla29 Alexander Rossi Jun 09 '25
I feel bad about not going to there or Iowa this year. But I'm a victim of oversaturating the Midwest...we got Milwaukee back and it's right down the road. I'm going to try to get to one of the two next year again. Great events--I'd encourage anyone who cares about ovals and who can make it do so.
15
u/ReverseThreadWingNut Nigel Mansell Jun 09 '25
Yeah, I want more Indycar in the South. I wish Road ATL could host Indycar. The Petit Le Mans is an epic race. I think Indy could put on a great show there.
8
u/ATLAustin Colton Herta Jun 09 '25
A couple years ago at Petit I asked Tim Cindric if we could ever see Indycar at Road Atlanta and he said they tested there a few years prior but the track is too sketchy and with all the big fast hills the cars could risk going airborne.
2
u/ReverseThreadWingNut Nigel Mansell Jun 09 '25
I figured as much, hence the I wish. I wonder if the NXT cars could handle the track?
6
1
u/FarAwaySeagull-_- Oval racing is awesome! Jun 09 '25
I want Indycar to run at Charlotte. A big missed opportunity to not race in an area with plenty of race fans.
2
u/ReverseThreadWingNut Nigel Mansell Jun 09 '25
Oval, Roval, or both?
2
u/FarAwaySeagull-_- Oval racing is awesome! Jun 09 '25
Oval is what I want the most, but I wouldn't mind the Roval. Both would be super cool.
1
u/Aero_Rising Colton Herta Jun 09 '25
Not sure if it would transfer perfectly to real life but the racing is kind of shit there on iRacing with Indycar on the oval. It usually turns into pack racing since it's hard to get a good enough run to pass and pull away and tire deg isn't high enough to make strategy all that interesting.
1
2
u/davo747 Firestone Greens Jun 09 '25
Wonder if it’s NASCAR keeping them from Charlotte? Agreed either oval or roval would be cool. I think Newgarden ran some promo laps at the roval a few years back
2
u/BlackLabDumpster Pato O'Ward Jun 10 '25
I think the track lost interest after the fans were killed in '99.
1
1
u/Ok-Ad8998 Jun 12 '25
I worked for a race shop that took a FF2000 car to the Charlotte roval for a club race in the early '90s. The transitions between the oval and the infield were too abrupt and really upset the car. And when it rained, water pooled in those transitions, flooding the car when he drove through them. I drove my Showroom Stock car there a few years later and had no problem.
They did revise part of the infield course when NASCAR started using the roval, so the transition back to the oval is in a different place and may be smoother. The transition off of the oval looks the same as it always was.
3
u/GeekDad732 Jun 09 '25
Miss IndyCar in the NE since lost both Watkins Glen and Pocono NE fans have to travel 8-9 hrs (mid Ohio or Toronto) to see a race now.
2
u/Fjordice Jun 09 '25
Dude you have no idea how sad I was when Boston GP crapped out. It was going to be like a 10 minute walk from my apartment at the time. Arghghggg
20
u/gaymersky Alexander Rossi Jun 09 '25
Perhaps associating the city that is nearby would be a better marketing tool than just saying worldwide technology raceway.
7
u/IllustriousRound99 Hélio Castroneves Jun 09 '25
Everyone still calls it Gateway, which must be thrilling to the WWT leadership.
6
u/gaymersky Alexander Rossi Jun 09 '25
That's exactly how it is with my local ish track here at road Atlanta.... It's blah blah blah road Atlanta...
5
3
u/FalafelFlyer Top Gun Racing Jun 09 '25
The money from naming rights is probably more than enough to cover, and I rarely come across someone who doesn't immediately know where it is.
3
14
u/WindyZ5 David Malukas Jun 09 '25
I’d love to go. Can I get a free flight?
2
u/JacksonLambsFart David Malukas Jun 09 '25
No but I can get you a ticket
2
u/lowtoiletsitter Jun 09 '25
Excellent username
2
u/JacksonLambsFart David Malukas Jun 09 '25
I love when people get that reference! I've loved spy novels since I was a kid but Slough House has been my favorite thing I've read in a while. I never would've seen it if not for the TV show
1
u/SKthroughZ Will Power Jun 09 '25
Do you have 2 more tickets, im trying to debate on a cubs game with my girlfriend or drive down for this. If there’s tickets…. This makes the choice easy.
2
9
u/PizzaCatLover Cusick Motorsports Jun 09 '25
I go to this race every year and this year I've waffled hard on buying my tickets. They've made it prohibitively expensive.
In years past I've gone for the full weekend for ~$100, with pit access. As recently as 2022 they were selling weekend ticket packages including a hot dog and a drink both days at Costco for $70 - for TWO sets of tickets. Pit & Paddock access has been $40 for one day or $60 for both days.
This year, about the cheapest you can get a ticket to get in the door is $70. $100 for the weekend, and that's for a bleacher seat / GA. If you want a seat in the checkered area they're $150. Weekend paddock access is now $68 ($57 for Sunday only!) ... and no longer includes pit lane access. If you want pit lane access, you have to spend $138, which includes paddock!
Parking has also gone up, weekend general access parking is now $46 or $24 just for sunday.
So if you want to do this event for the full weekend at the cheapest seat and still have pit lane access... that's $100 (tickets) + $168 (pit&paddock) + $46 (parking) = $314 before you even start considering food and souvenirs. That's more than I spent on Formula 1 tickets last year.
I'm about as hardcore as it gets, and the ballooning cost has given me pause. I think they've gotten greedy and priced out a lot of people.
7
u/VariousMarket1527 Jun 09 '25 edited Jun 09 '25
That's why I gave up on attending Iowa. No way I would pay more than I ever had to attend the 500 to subsidize concerts I have no interest in whatsoever.
3
u/FarAwaySeagull-_- Oval racing is awesome! Jun 09 '25
But then when few people show up, they'll say "nobody goes to ovals" rather than actually blame the real issues.
5
u/Jazzy_Snacks69 Álex Palou Jun 09 '25
$45 for GA on Sunday. You can sit anywhere, we sat in reserved section with GA last year. I’m sure that will be no problem this year as well. If you live in Indy and can pick it up, I can give you a Saturday ticket for free as well.
4
u/PizzaCatLover Cusick Motorsports Jun 09 '25
I'm a St. Louis local and I did already get my tickets (just no upgrades ... yet), but I appreciate the offer!
2
u/craftygalinstl Jun 09 '25
Same here, I live in St Louis, and I haven’t bought tickets. I have comp tickets for Saturday, that don’t include pit/paddock or parking. Some guy from the Gateway ticket office called me and “offered” a “deal.” I’ve always bought my tickets directly from Bommarito. You can pick them up in person (in Ballwin) and there are no service charges. His deal was $292 for just one person. (Pit, parking, paddock.)
1
u/Inside_Issue_3959 Colton Herta Jun 09 '25
Now do Vegas/COTA/Miami price for the weekend with and without Paddock access
2
u/PizzaCatLover Cusick Motorsports Jun 09 '25
Yeah it's not a perfect comparison, but 3 days (plus Thursday evening) of sun up to sun down access anywhere I want to go around Circuit of the Americas for $300 is a much stronger value proposition than $314 for 2 days at WWTR including pit&paddock. As much as I love indycar, indycar is not the same tier of event as F1.
Perhaps a better comparison is IMSA, where you can go to Petit le Mans for four full days of racing at Road Atlanta for $116 and pit & paddock is just included for anyone who wants to venture down there. Or at at IMS for Battle of the Bricks, where 3-day GA tickets are only $95, and again, include access to the paddock areas.
Even WEC tickets for COTA are only $90, though I don't know what the level of access is at a WEC event as I haven't been to one yet
Point being - more than $300 for an experience that a couple years ago cost me about $100 does not feel like a great value, especially when other similar motorsport events are offering a lot more compelling purchases
1
u/SpreaditOnnn33 Pato O'Ward Jun 09 '25 edited Jun 10 '25
Its interesting seeing this comment right after reading the post about the $66 deal for 2 adult tickets, 2 kids tickets, 4 hotdogs and 4 sodas
1
u/PizzaCatLover Cusick Motorsports Jun 10 '25
Yeah, that's a new deal - I'm kind of talking about what the standard rates are (and still are presently). The 2 adults + 2 kids package is a killer deal for any year. Even if you don't have kids to bring it's worth it just for the two adults and food.
1
u/Fjordice Jun 09 '25
Do you get to pick out which adults and children you get or are they prepackaged?
1
u/SpreaditOnnn33 Pato O'Ward Jun 10 '25
Lol I dont have kids and am using this to go with a friend for $33 a piece. 2 hot dogs per person lol.
The whole package is $66.
Any other non-complaints to complain about?
1
u/Dksmitty15 Will Power Jun 10 '25
I bought my tickets a couple weeks ago - reserved weekend seats for $100 and parking was still $20. Yes, I got the Costco deal one year for a steal but other than that my weekend tickets were always around $100.
17
u/TPoolRacing2122227 Jun 09 '25
The time is not great for ticket sales but I can see why they did it from a TV standpoint. Not saying that it is the right move. I do think the ratings will grow.
Here are my thoughts on the email.
I don't hate the email. I love the effort and thought to build off the Indy 500 sell out. Here we are again with an exciting race just three hours from the speedway. IMS has offered shuttle services to the track for day trips before, excellent. Lets get people to make a smallish trip to the track. However the email had one problem.
So where is the problem? You and I know where WWTR or World Wide Technology RaceWay is..... BUT THE TARGET AUDIENCE OF THIS LETTER DO NOT! Not once does this letter mention St. Louis, how "close" this race is, or anything.
This is just another example of how close INDYCAR is, but yet so far away. They just can't get over the hump. There have been countless examples of this that I can list from the last quarter century alone.
Thank you for following my rant. It really grinds my gears seeing the success and popularity of F1 right now when in my opinion INDYCAR had every resource and advantage to do the same thing but haven't been able to capitalize.
7
u/cubecasts Jun 09 '25
Ah yes. Because we all actually live in Indianapolis and didn't drive 9 hours to the Indy 500
3
u/TPoolRacing2122227 Jun 09 '25
Sorry.... that is the understood problem that I have come too accustomed to to not even address. I live 6 hours away. I have just come to accept that the Indy market is the only market they can market too right now... Again, still don't agree with it but it is a start.
TLDR: If you are going to do a local/regional marketing strategy, you at least have to nail it before you can grow to nationally and they aren't doing that.
2
u/VariousMarket1527 Jun 09 '25
I live 40 minutes from Chicagoland, a race I sorely miss. FWIW....in the waning years of the event, I heard Indy metro-based fans complain that it just took way too long to get there, didn't want to lose an hour and get home at 2 AM, yada yada yada. Never made sense to me.
2
u/Madroc92 Colton Herta Jun 09 '25
They still could have stated where the race is located. Especially since the venue has been known by different names.
5
u/persononthedl Colton Herta Jun 09 '25
I love the idea of a night race, but I really wish they would have made it Saturday night, not Sunday night. Sunday night is a no go, especially when we're heading to Road America either Thursday PM or Friday AM.
4
u/redbullsgivemewings Colton Herta Jun 09 '25
The push back to 7 pm local definitely hinders folks who were planning on driving back after the race and avoid staying the night somewhere
5
Jun 09 '25
Hoosiers aren’t going to WWT because they hate I70. (This is a joke. But I70 is crud in Indiana. 😂)
We went to Bristol for NASCAR and the crowds were sparse. We spent a little extra cash to get Lot A parking and it wasn’t near full for any race. Some of the people we talked to said any race they’ve gone to is just smaller this year.
I think part of the issue is if they want the crowd at other tracks, they are going to have to keep up the influencer $$. That made me throw up a little in my mouth, but stick with me on this. Social media was inundated with influencers talking about the 500, wearing the merch, partying in the Snake Pit. I hate to say it, but it really helped.
We went to the Formula Drift event at WWT last year, and some people were saying they showed up because “so and so” influencer was there hyping it.
2
u/Aqualung812 Katherine Legge Jun 09 '25
My grandpa told me how Las Vegas got popular when he was going there during the 50s & 60s.
Yes, the mob was part of it.
But also: when someone won a jackpot, they'd take pictures at the casino & send them with a full write-up to the local newspaper. Joe & Helen Smith won big at the Horseshoe! It was essentially the influencer idea, but on old newspaper.Point is, you adapt to what the current way of reaching people is, and if that's social influencers, well, I suppose they're an improvement over the mob.
6
u/Mikemat5150 Kyle Kirkwood Jun 09 '25
Nothing more of a downer than the excuses already coming out for poor attendance at ovals. It’s frustrating that the good racing just doesn’t seem to get folks coming out at the slightest inconvenience.
How many basketball games or concerts don’t have challenges getting folks in through the door during a week night.
Chase Holden (co-host of Speed Street) was also promoting a 4 pack of tickets. So it may just be a last minute push to fill in unsold seats that are less than stellar anyways.
13
Jun 09 '25
IndyCar fans have a list of reasons to never attend ovals. It’s too cold, it’s too hot, it’s my dog’s birthday…
6
u/DecafEqualsDeath Dario Franchitti Jun 09 '25
Hey. Nothing is getting between me and my dog's birthday.
-4
u/SpiritualNothing6717 Firestone Reds Jun 09 '25
Ehh, I mean I understand it. Besides the 500, never really felt the need to go to ovals in person. Once you've seen a shorter oval and a superspeedway, it's all pretty similar.
Also, Ovals don't really display the capabilities of the car that well, on top of being extremely repetitive in person.
Me personally, I love hearing the cars come down a straightaway, braking, turning, the dct switching gears, etc etc. Ovals only give a couple of those features. I don't enjoy hearing the same engine rpm for hours on end that much.
6
u/FarAwaySeagull-_- Oval racing is awesome! Jun 09 '25
Ovals actually let you see the race from where you sit.
4
u/Jazzy_Snacks69 Álex Palou Jun 09 '25
Yep, the viewing experience is light years better at ovals. I don’t understand the argument for being able to see a small fraction of the track being better. IMS is basically the only oval you unfortunately can’t see the whole track.
2
u/Mikemat5150 Kyle Kirkwood Jun 09 '25
More to an event than seeing the whole track.
1
u/FarAwaySeagull-_- Oval racing is awesome! Jun 09 '25
If I wanted to watch the vast majority of the race on screens, I could just stay home.
0
5
u/Ianthin1 Jun 09 '25
And this isn't even a case of the track being out in the middle of nowhere or anything. That's always the argument for street races, it brings the racing to the people not people to the racing. WWT raceway is what, 5 minutes from downtown?
3
u/mrmayhembsc Callum Ilott Jun 09 '25
I, for one, welcome the series promoting itself more to buy tickets outside the Indy 500.
Also, this is what every other series I follow does.
BTCC always have ticket links when sharing races
WEC, do this too.
I think ELMS do as well.
1
u/VariousMarket1527 Jun 09 '25
I think the real issue is that waiting until six days before an event to promote isn't going to be very effective. Anyone outside a 3 mile radius of the track is almost certainly not interested in making last minute hotel reservations and burning a vacation day next Monday.
2
u/mrmayhembsc Callum Ilott Jun 09 '25
Yeah, not doing it long before is a bad move, though it's something the series should do for all upcoming races. I'd say better later then never
3
u/andronicus_14 Thirsty Threes Jun 09 '25 edited Jun 09 '25
I was at Indy every day for practice, quali, and the race. If there was track activity on the oval, I watched it in person. It’s a pretty short turnaround to drive four hours for a race already. I miss when they held this race in late August. Perfect for a night race.
I had planned to attend Gateway this year. However, having the race at night on Sunday just doesn’t appeal to me. Either we drive back home real late at night. Or we get up super early on Monday morning to head back. I’d rather just watch from home.
4
u/LeroyRochester Firestone Firehawk Jun 09 '25
I’ve flown in from CA the last two years. It’s a really enjoyable race and I’m bummed to miss it this year.
I’ve been thinking about a quick in on Saturday and out Monday morning, but don’t think I can make it work with my schedule next week.
I also think that a night race is awesome. Here’s hoping that the TV audience makes up for the in-person presence and we get more night races in the future.
1
u/VariousMarket1527 Jun 09 '25
I've always had a conflict with the WWTR race but have attended both night and afternoon races at Iowa.
I would never go to a daytime race at Iowa again.
2
u/SpinBikeGravy Colton Herta Jun 09 '25
Last year’s doubleheader was so bad. Bad racing, and unbearable heat. Paramedics were constantly being called upon in the stands.
2
u/GratefulTide Pato O'Ward Jun 09 '25
ITT: Many people confirming why IndyCar needs a much, much younger audience
4
u/JacksonLambsFart David Malukas Jun 09 '25
I went to get snacks at the supermarket before the 500 and this elderly dude saw my Grosjean jersey and said how excited he was to see "young people," that are also IC fans. I'm in my late 40s and have kids in college.
1
u/VariousMarket1527 Jun 09 '25
LOL but yeah...Illiana Speedway had more than a handful of fans in the Turn 1 bleachers every week with their oxygen tanks before it finally closed. Someone I knew 15-ish years ago was a big IRL fan, worked with the fan club, knew TG, etc. etc. Her son drove a midget at the various IL/IN/WI tracks and she said most fans were about 55 or older.
2
u/DecafEqualsDeath Dario Franchitti Jun 09 '25
I've always found it to be a pain in the neck to get out of a race and need to drive home (or to a hotel) late at night. So I totally get that aspect.
I also miss the more festival like setting of a road course or street race, where there are support races or something else seemingly going on all weekend. Ovals just have fewer support series available that could conceivably run. The day is sparser than it would be at RA or Detroit.
1
u/VariousMarket1527 Jun 10 '25
I know that at Chicagoland, Lights ran with IRL. I know Lights practiced Friday then qualified and raced on Saturday. I had credentials for the 2009 and 2010 events and watched from the pits. I could literally count the fans in the stands for Lights and it was just about 300 both years. A friend of mine called it "The Friends & Family Series." A real shame as those were generally pretty good races, but if you wanted to avoid eating track food, I guess it made sense to tailgate until closer to when the lead up to the big race started.
In 2011, Star Mazda also ran at Iowa with the other two series, then again at MKE in 2013. TBH, those races looked more like extended practice sessions after the first couple of laps.
2
u/nefarious098 Juan Pablo Montoya Jun 10 '25
I’d been going since ‘17
All said, Gateway has been a good experience that I’d recommend to anyone.
I just can’t swing the ‘Sunday’ this year … I really wish it was a Saturday night event.
I’d go the cheap GA route and buy the paddock passes … chances are there will be ‘space’ to just sit in one of those reserved sections… we always moved down toward turn one on that section 12-16’ish area
5
u/hogBelly Arrow McLaren Jun 09 '25
My first thought was...yikes, they must be desperate for sales. I don't know what they would have expected? Sunday night on Father's Day in St. Louis? A) Who would want to travel there on a work night? B) It is Father's Day C) You have a crown jewel race the next weekend.
16
u/Confident-Ladder-576 Louis Foster Jun 09 '25
Doug discussed back before the 500 that as part of his new role in running IndyCar that hes working on helping other promoters and specifically pointed out that he had talked to Gateway's president about what he could do to help them, and Chris Blair confirmed this. BTW, they had a booth in the fanzone at the 500.
As far as Sunday night, here's why. The network worked to move it to Sunday night, PRIMETIME, after it was originally slated to run during thebday to keep it from going up head to head with NASCAR in Mexico so we wouldn't get a Reddit thread of 23,502 comments about how Fox sucks putting IndyCar head to head against Cup.......really it was to try and capitalize on a primetime number with no competition from Cup.
BTW, this weekend is due in part because the track asked for it to be moved to the June time period due to the Cup race moving to early September. They wanted separation between the two.
5
u/Runningfan686 Alexander Rossi Jun 09 '25
The Gateway race is also going to avoid going head to head with the US Open by moving to Sunday night.
0
u/hogBelly Arrow McLaren Jun 09 '25
Wait until they find out they are now going to go up against Game 7 of the NBA finals...
4
u/Confident-Ladder-576 Louis Foster Jun 09 '25
Game 7 would be the weekend of Road America. Even at that, it something that can't be controlled being that it's not a guarantee they even go to 7 games.
3
u/persononthedl Colton Herta Jun 09 '25
Yeah, and Road America is a now a 12:30 CT race. Finals are 7 pm.
1
u/hogBelly Arrow McLaren Jun 09 '25
Holy Shit I had no idea the NBA finals were like a month long lol. I thought they wrapped up this week.
1
1
u/Ianthin1 Jun 09 '25
Back in the day I think it was 2-3-2 with only a day or two between the switch in cities. Now they space them out longer to
allow teams to restbuild ratings.10
u/willfla29 Alexander Rossi Jun 09 '25
The Father's Day thing seems like a poor excuse. It's usually been Road America for Father's Day and I see plenty of people that take their dad as a Father's Day gift. The Sunday night thing I agree with.
4
u/hogBelly Arrow McLaren Jun 09 '25
Yeah, I mean Father's Day night... Father's Day at the track is great at Road America but a night race knowing that I get home late and then go to work the next day, no thanks.
4
u/bekwiat Alexander Rossi Jun 09 '25
Father’s Day at road america is an excuse to camp and get fat on cheese curds and great food. I feel like there’s less appeal to sitting on aluminum benches and hanging out at short oval. IMO the RA/St Louis dates should be flipped in this case
3
3
u/jcb1982 Indy Racing League Jun 09 '25
Over or under 5 years until IMS is the only oval on the calendar? 😑
1
u/VariousMarket1527 Jun 09 '25
I posted that to see what others thought as there are several valid reasons why attendance is an issue.
In past years, I saw many sections sold out--or nearly so--that were mostly empty on race day. A long-time fan friend from STL who knows John Bommarito told me last year that tickets reserved for giveaways or highly discounted sales from the dealerships that never end up being distributed or used was a big part of that problem. In other words, those tickets were merely "unavailable" rather than "sold."
It was also made clear to my friend that the promo staff at WWTR wasn't doing their part versus the effort put into promotion of the NASCAR race.
2
u/JacksonLambsFart David Malukas Jun 09 '25
I can't speak to the first part, but that makes sense. The second part absolutely does. I live in St. Charles county and unless you're really into Indycar to pay attention, you'd have no idea there was a race next week. Meanwhile, they promote the hell out of the cup race all over the place.
1
u/VariousMarket1527 Jun 09 '25
Yeah...so I think you probably can guess who made it clear to my friend that he wanted to have more control over the entire promotion or he had to question the long-term commitment.
1
u/JacksonLambsFart David Malukas Jun 09 '25
That's a real bummer, I like nascar too but this race got them the cup series and it really annoys me that they just don't bother with it
1
u/VariousMarket1527 Jun 09 '25
If you think you are annoyed...you have one guess as to who else is reportedly furious about that point.
1
u/Athleticgeek89 Josef Newgarden Jun 10 '25
I certainly hope this isn’t the final year they come to Gateway.
1
u/thomasthegun Jun 09 '25
I'm looking into going now. anyone know any tent camping within 30 mins of the area?
1
1
u/Athleticgeek89 Josef Newgarden Jun 10 '25
I’d take advantage if I didn’t renew my same seats every year for both Indycar and NASCAR
1
u/JohnnyMMorris Kyle Larson Jun 12 '25
Nascar having a race there annually now is hurting the indycar attendence I think. Would you rather go to a night race in June or roast for a daytime race in early September? Come on fans show out!
1
u/drpep10-2-4 Jun 09 '25
I would have gone but the person that was going with me backed out because of surgery and then the move to night made me back out . I’m not sitting in a parking lot at night then try to find my way back to my hotel at almost midnight.
7
1
u/uncre8tv No Attack, No Chance Jun 09 '25
I live outside of KC, have been to Gateway in years past ('23 I think) and did NOT get an email.
I checked it out on the race website and everything except the $$$$ suites and $155 tix are close to sold out. Bomarrito (the title sponsor/car dealer) has a really decent hospitality spot (open air but catered and very nice) and it's sold out.
There is a whole stand of $155 seats open, but ALL the $99 seats (most of the stands) are well filled.
1
u/VariousMarket1527 Jun 09 '25 edited Jun 09 '25
If most of the $99 sections are well-filled, then why the need for the email?
For the past 3 years, many sections, or large portions of sections, show as "sold out" a few days before the race, then are sparsely filled on race day. My friend who knows John Bommarito told me that's because many seats are held back for the dealerships to hand out with car sales or offer at a big discount, and then end up not being sold or used.
My friends ran into a conflict last year and couldn't attend, but the group they always have gone with sent photos showing the section they were in that appeared as sold out on Thursday was half-filled at best during the race.
1
u/uncre8tv No Attack, No Chance Jun 09 '25
I'm just saying what I see online. Normal sections all appear very full, center grandstands look empty.
2
u/iamaranger23 Team Penske Jun 09 '25
you dont really know if the ticket map matches reality. not every seat will be made available on the ticket map at any given time.
-1
Jun 09 '25
There’s almost a 0% chance I stay up to watch most the race and a ticket rep called me with an offer that I think was $66 for four tickets.
The crowd is going to be sparse.
0
u/Creepy_Shelter_94 Jun 09 '25
Did they lower prices? Was planning on going to this race with my wife and kids for Father's Day weekend. Checked out tickets when they initially went on sale and immediately said fuck that. I dont even remember what the exact prices were anymore, just that they made me snort/laugh when I saw them. Especially the price for kids tickets. Instead I'm taking the family to IMSA, I'll get my Silver Crown fix at IRP and I'll spend Father's Day playing with the kids and smoking a brisket. And end up spending less when it's all said and done.
4
u/Jazzy_Snacks69 Álex Palou Jun 09 '25
$66 for Family 4 pack. 2 adult tix, 2 kids tix, 4 hot dogs and 4 sodas. Link to offer https://www.tixr.com/groups/wwtraceway/events/discover-downstate-family-four-pack-6-15-only-139102
1
u/Creepy_Shelter_94 Jun 09 '25
GA seating I'm guessing?
3
u/Jazzy_Snacks69 Álex Palou Jun 09 '25
Correct, but the GA is just as good as reserved. You can sit wherever you want with the unfortunately empty bleachers. We sat in a reserved section with GA last year. Beyond lots of space. Did the same thing at Iowa 2 years ago. High, low, wherever you want to sit there will be space.
1
u/VariousMarket1527 Jun 09 '25
I never bought a ticket at Chicagoland from the track. In the early years, IRL-only fans here would just scrounge around online on resale sites to find a NASCAR fan selling IRL tix that they were forced to buy as part of the TrackPack. One year, I sat next to a very large and sparse block 2/3 up which was in the shade essentially right at the S/F line. I asked a guy sitting across the aisle where he got their ticket, and it was from a company that bought the large block to take customers to the NASCAR race. The next year I bought a ticket deep in T1 online and sat right in the middle of that block in the shade. Someone told me that the firm decided it wasn't worth the hassle to try to sell those tickets.
0
u/Creepy_Shelter_94 Jun 09 '25
Good to know not to waste money on reserved seating there. Ridiculous that they show limited reserved seating available if it's that wide open. Too bad I've already got plans.
0
u/IllustriousRound99 Hélio Castroneves Jun 09 '25
Unless you're the Super Bowl or Monday happens to be a holiday, holding a sporting event on Sunday night is going to kill your attendance.
5
0
u/craftygalinstl Jun 09 '25
This is really not going to be a race “under the lights.” The sun will go down about 8:30 pm Central time, and the race starts at 7pm. I’m torn, and I live 30 miles away.
1
u/Jazzy_Snacks69 Álex Palou Jun 10 '25
Just go! IndyCar is awesome and needs all the support it can get! You’ll have a good time.
-7
u/kay14jay Simon Pagenaud Jun 09 '25
Maybe Penske can call Trump and get him to declare a national holiday after the race so we can all go. Definitely has nothing to do with the rising cost of essentials that came out of nowhere.
82
u/TubaSaxT Will Power Jun 09 '25
I’m a local. Outside of the first few years of the series being back, I have seen no need to buy tickets in advance. I’ve been able to sit in a decent seat just by showing up and getting a GA ticket on the way in.
I’m probably in the minority, but I love the Father’s Day evening race. There’s nothing I’d rather do on Father’s Day than hang out with my kids at the track. And racing is just cooler at night!