Dallas Morning News reporter Richard Durrett was Tradin' Paint at Texas Motor Speedway on SPEED. (Image: SPEED)

Richard Durrett: "That was probably going to happen anyway, but I do think Kyle is correct here when it comes to the fact that the economy affects all of this. You will see Sunday at this race 150,000 people and that’s great, but it is going to be down. That’s not going to be the same attendance they normally get here at the Texas Motor Speedway, and TMS isn’t the only track that has experienced this. We have seen 20% decreases in Atlanta. We have seen a lot of decreases in Indianapolis, in Kansas, in other tracks around the circuit. It’s high gas prices, it is higher ticket prices, it’s the economy. People don’t have jobs or at least don’t have the additional income to come to races and they have to make choices between going to one and two races instead of four or five and it affects team. It all trickles down to the teams and that’s the way it is. I do hope and I do think that once the economy turns around we’ll see some of these jobs come back."

John Roberts: "We always like to put the positive spin on things here on SPEED. You know what? These tracks are offering great packages right now for families to come out because of the economy. You can get a ticket cheap now."

Kyle Petty: "And this is the perfect place, Eddie and these guys at Texas Motor Speedway have offered some great packages for the weekend, for you to be able to come out and to experience racing for two or three nights at a reduced price. That’s what these racetracks are going to have to do. Anytime your business goes away you have to adjust your model. When we don’t have the only game in town or when we have a game in town that’s taking discretionary dollars and you’re begging for those discretionary dollars, you have to give them extra value. I think Eddie Gossage and the people here have done a great job of doing that. Other racetracks have done that and as we go to Phoenix, as we go to Homestead, they are trying to do the same thing. I think this is good for the sport and when the sport comes out of this economic slump, these people will be more attuned to marketing and what the fans really want."

John Roberts: "So it still is a good bargain. Come on out to Texas this weekend if you haven't made your decision yet. There’s going to be a great race going on, on this track no matter what the championship picture looks like."

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

SOURCE: SPEED/Edited by Michael Pomeroy and Steve Keller

Kyle Petty isn’t one to mince words. Kyle goes toe to toe with members of the media as they discuss and debate the top stories in NASCAR. Fans bombard drivers LIVE trackside with in your face questions that demand answers. The clock is ticking and guests must answer before time runs out. It’s nonstop action that will have race junkies on the edge of their seats. If you have what it takes to go head-to-head with the pros, “Tradin’ Paint” with Kyle Petty is for you.


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