Ty Gibbs finally won his first NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol last week. But there weren't enough people to celebrate that victory at the prestigious track. Low attendance at NASCAR races is something that fans have been talking about for quite some time. But there is a bigger problem that is preventing them from enjoying these races live.

For context, Bristol is a 146,000-seater Coliseum, and less than half the seats were taken up during Sunday’s Cup race. While NASCAR has stopped providing attendance numbers, the reported figures hover around 70,000. Insider John Newby shared his own experience, which might be able to explain why the numbers are low.

"I've driven multiple hours back and forth during race weekends the past few years because of the hotel price increases."

It is much easier for fans to tune in from home, instead of incurring some pricey expenses to enjoy a NASCAR race. Hotels are always going to take advantage of an occasion like this. But the travel to race destinations is not easy either. WDBJ7.com spoke to a few attendees who spent hundreds of dollars just on gas.

Many showed up on Newby's comments to share their frustrations on these difficulties.

Fans share disappointing NASCAR experiences due to high costs

"It's honestly better to sleep in your car sometimes because of how expensive this can get weekend to weekend," one user wrote. If fans have to sacrifice comfort and security to attend NASCAR races, numbers are definitely going to be down.

"Bristol’s always been a bucket list race for me, but I can’t justify the hotel costs especially for a full weekend," another fan commented. Bristol is the highlight race for many fans, and NASCAR hosts two races here because of the track's popularity. But not many are able to get an opportunity to attend because it's just not cost efficient.

Another said that they prefer other race venues to Bristol, “ I go to Martinsville and Darlington, both races every year. I haven’t been to Bristol in 15 years, and I love it. It’s all about prices.”

Bristol isn’t the only NASCAR track around which hotels are expensive. One fan gave the harsh reality: “ No lie. It’s what is likely keeping me from attending @RaceSonoma for @NASCAR this year. $847 for two nights in a Best Western last year. Brutal.”

While fans debated the attendance, one fan went straight to the roots – the development of the massive stadium. This fan wrote, “The track got greedy and has literally baked the 'coliseum' thing into their identity, so now they cannot take seats out like other tracks. 70k is a crowd, but when those 70k are surrounded by 90k empty seats, the event looks [boring].”

It's a bad look for a track that holds so much importance on the calendar. Will NASCAR make this experience more accessible to fans in the future?

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Afreen Kabir