RICHMOND, VA. IRL tries to grow for third season

The IRL is trying to survive in traditional NASCAR country.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- The largely empty grandstand at Richmond International Raceway was a stark reminder to track president Doug Fritz: This was no NASCAR weekend.
The Indy Racing League was back, trying for the third year to make a go of it. Hours before the race, the three-quarter-mile oval was nearly devoid of fans, who usually turn out in droves when the Winston Cup circuit rolls into town.
Fritz and IRL president Tony George only hoped nightfall would bring in the fans, a sign that the open-wheel racers are starting to catch on where the good ol' boys have traded paint for a half-century. In the end, they came, but not enough of them to brag about.
"It's not going to be that all of a sudden we're going to gain 75,000 people in a year," Fritz said. "We've been pleased with the outcomes of the events and we've been pleased with the attendance. We're looking for it to grow, but we're also realistic."
Patience
George, who started the IRL in 1996, appreciates the patience. He's tried to sell the IRL in other classic NASCAR venues such as Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta, but each time attendance dwindled steadily and the races were eventually moved.
Richmond became one of those elsewhere areas in 2001, appearing on the IRL schedule for the first time, and as the shortest track on which the open-wheel cars have raced.
"We're trying to learn patience," George said, adding that it has become the series mantra. "Growing the IRL has not been nearly as easy as I thought it was going to be when it was first conceived.
"We're often more patient, I think, than the tracks."
Richmond seemed to be following the pattern of curiosity succeeded by apathy.
About 40,000 fans turned out for the series' debut -- and saw speed unlike anything they'd experienced from stock cars. They also saw some pretty good racing.
"It's definitely a demanding track. You're hardly ever straight," driver Jaques Lazier said.
"It just makes it fun for the driver to be around this little bull ring. You're always fighting for position, you're always fighting to get the car to work better, and it's just exciting for 250 laps."
Last year, about 35,000 showed up, and about 40,000 were there last Saturday night for the SunTrust Indy Challenge, won by Scott Dixon.
"It seems to be fairly well received here," George said. "We like to see continued acceptance and growth. But those are things that can only be measured over time."
Penske impressed
Still, Roger Penske, a giant of American racing with teams in NASCAR and the IRL, was impressed.
"I was surprised to see how many people were out there already with their campers waiting to come to the race," he said.
"Those are new fans and it's not 120,000 like they have with NASCAR, but we've only run here three times."
He and George also agreed that the comparisons of IRL crowds to NASCAR crowds are unfair, especially in the South, because they magnify a difference in volume without recognizing that NASCAR is established and the IRL is trying to develop a fan base.
"We can have 50,000 or 60,000 people here and the problem is, a lot of people view that as the glass being half empty," George said. "It becomes perception."
The series has not completed the schedule it will release in a few weeks, but George, Fritz and others all expect a fourth IRL visit to Richmond.
Fritz, for one, is hoping for another weekend at the end of June, like the first three.
A steady spot on the schedule is one way to become a part of the fabric of the community and would help create a sense that the IRL has a place here.