As attendance sags, is Brickyard losing luster?

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Any sports event that draws an estimated crowd of 180,000 has to be considered a smashing success by any measure. Except when it drew 270,000 two years earlier.

There will be some empty seats for Sunday's Brickyard 400, leading some to wonder whether one of NASCAR's marquee events has lost a little bit of its luster.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway does not release official attendance figures, but crowds are declining according to NASCAR estimates: from 270,000 in 2007 to 240,000 in 2008 to 180,000 last year.

Hoping for a boost this year, the track is letting kids 12 and under get in free with the purchase of an adult general admission ticket.