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INDIANAPOLIS -- Its Tony Stewarts final Brickyard 400, and retired four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon was a late addition to the entry list at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.?Can they make a difference to NASCARs fastest falling event??Lets be honest: No. Two of modern stock car racings biggest stars have strong ties to the state of Indiana, but thats not likely to create a noticeable boost in attendance for the race that serves as the most dramatic example of NASCARs fall from grace over the last decade.?Only 20 years ago, when stock car racing was still relatively new and novel at IMS and the Indianapolis 500 was starting to show the effects of the Indy car civil war between CART and the Indy Racing League, I called the Brickyard 400 the Speedways premier race.?That is emphatically no longer the case. With Indy car racing reunified as the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis 500 has slowly rallied over the last decade. This year, with the additional buzz surrounding the 100th running of Americas most famous auto race, the 500 was a sellout for the first time since the CART/IRL split in 1996.?Meanwhile, the Brickyard, despite being contested at arguably the best-known oval circuit in the world, has become just another race on the NASCAR schedule.?The drivers can hype it up and say how much it means to race at Indy, but the Brickyard 400, as an event, has lost its luster with fans.?The sellout crowds were already starting to thin when the Goodyear tire debacle occurred in 2008, and that, combined with the resurgence in interest in the Indianapolis 500 when Indy car racing came back together, burst the Brickyard attendance balloon.?The event never really recovered, to the point where attendance has slipped to an estimated 75,000 on race day, about a quarter of what it was during the peak years in the 1990s.?The Brickyard 400 is still a profitable race for IMS, but it cannot be denied that those vast expanses of bare aluminum grandstands are a black eye to the famous venues image.?The Brickyard 400 is the third largest attended sporting event in the state of Indiana every year, IMS president Doug Boles said. So while its not the Indianapolis 500, it still is a massive event and there still are a lot of people here. Economically it makes sense for us, it makes sense for this community and it makes sense for NASCAR.?Would we love to have more people? Boles asked. Absolutely, and we continue to try to do that every day. But is there any way you can say its not a success? Absolutely not.?Assuming the Brickyard draws 75,000, that still puts the event comfortably in the top 10 in terms of attendance among all NASCAR events.?That glass-half-full spin ignores the fact that the Brickyard used to be the sports undisputed No. 1 draw and that the weekend is a shadow of its former self. Promoting the presence of Stewart and Gordon for one last go-round certainly isnt going to make a noticeable difference in attendance -- or the widespread perception that the Brickyard is an event that jumped the shark.?Gordon, who spent the first half of the season in the media working for Fox Sports, understands that his two-race (for now) comeback is big news -- especially in central Indiana, where he attended high school while starting his career in USAC racing.?Absolutely, we are looking for big stories because you know that when they come along it creates a lot of buzz and interest and gives you a lot to talk about, Gordon said.?So Im sure the folks at NBC are going to have plenty to talk about here on Sunday.? ?Boles said that when the news about Gordon broke, it did make a positive difference. I know our ticketing team is excited, he said. Our phones started ringing in a way that they havent been ringing in quite some time, just because there is so much momentum behind Jeff Gordon.?When youre here in Indiana and you have the opportunity for Jeff Gordon to run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- especially after hes retired from racing -- its pretty exciting to have him here.?In addition to his Indiana homecoming, Gordon adds another storyline (and potentially, some ticket sales) to next weeks race at Pocono Raceway. But Pocono president Brandon Igdalsky is realistic about the effect Gordons presence -- and by extension, Dale Earnhardt Jr.s absence -- will have on walk-up numbers at the gate.?Im sure we saw a little spike from it, but youd rather have the most popular driver in the sport [Earnhardt] racing, Igdalsky said. The fans last year who may have missed the chance to see Jeff run, there you go, hes going to come back and run a few races and fill in.?Heck, Ill take any extra ticket sales we can get.?With Hoosier heroes Gordon and Stewart (and to a lesser extent, South Bend native Ryan Newman) to promote, this years Brickyard certainly isnt hurting for storylines. ?But the biggest story is still likely to be the shocking lack of fan interest in the event -- and looking forward, there is no logical answer in sight in terms of how to rekindle it.?Suggestions range from running the Indianapolis race on the IMS road course, to making it a Chase race later in the year when the weather is more pleasant (this weekends forecast calls for high humidity with a heat index above 100 degrees).?Clearly some kind of shake-up needs to happen, because 23 years in, the novelty of NASCAR racing at Indianapolis has truly worn off. It was neat at first, but once youve sat through a couple hot, boring stock car races at IMS, theres really no compelling reason to go back and do it again.?The Speedway is an awesome place to behold, especially when it is filled to capacity like it was in the first half of the Brickyards history, or for this years Indy 500. But truth be told, with its poor sight lines and lack of modern amenities, its not the greatest place to actually watch a car race.?Improvements are being made to the infrastructure at IMS, but the grand old track is still light years behind venues like Daytona and Texas when it comes to giving fans a comfortable spectating experience.?Next year, of course -- barring another personal request from Rick Hendrick -- there wont be Gordon and Stewart as part of the draw.?Its certainly important to build that next generation of race car driver, because thats whats going to sell tickets in the future, Boles said. The best-case scenario for us in Indy is if Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon wins, but people are already asking who is that next generation driver who is going to win and create new fans and sell tickets going forward A lot of NASCARs messaging in the last couple years has been about the new drivers. They know they have to invest in that, and so do we.?But were not going to turn Jeff Gordon down, no matter who else you need to build the fan base going forward. Cheap Nike Free Shoes .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Wholesale Nike Free Shoes China . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. http://www.nikefreecheap.com/ . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Cheap China Nike Free Shoes . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Cheap Nike Free Shoes Wholesale . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. LONDON -- Seats, coins and bottles were thrown as fans of London rivals West Ham and Chelsea clashed Wednesday in the latest episode of soccer disorder at Londons Olympic Stadium.Violence broke out in the closing minutes West Hams 2-1 victory in the English League Cup as police and stadium staff battled to maintain segregation behind the goal being defended by the home team.Whatever happened, we are totally against it as a club, as a team, West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said. For those kind of things to happen, especially in England, is unacceptable.West Ham said the disorder was quickly brought under control and pledged to work with authorities to identify the perpetrators.Those found to have acted improperly will be banned from attending any West Ham United fixtures for life and we will request the courts serve banning orders to prevent these individuals attending any other football, the east London club said in a statement.West Ham only moved into the Olympic Stadium -- the centerpiece of the 2012 London Games -- this season after leaving Upton Park, its home of 112 years.But the opening three months in the 57,000-capacity venue have been dogged by West Hams inability to eradicate the type of problems that club management believed had been consigned to history.The worst trouble came last month, when West Ham supporters fought among themselves and clashed with stadium securiity staff and Watford fans during a Premier League game.ddddddddddddFor the derby against London rival Chelsea, supporters faced enhanced security checks and a larger police presence than normal for a match attended by 45,957 spectators.Dozens of riot police were on duty outside the stadium after the game to line the wide roads and concourses around the Olympic Park as well as the rail stations.After guiding his team into the quarterfinals of the League Cup, Bilic was irritated to again face questions about the conduct of the clubs supporters and preferred to talk about the game.Straight away, (for) the second question to be about something that I have nothing to say about is unfair towards the game, he said. Five minutes about the game and then we can talk about this. I think this game deserves to be talked about a little bit more.It was a London derby, 2-1 for us. Some great performances.Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said he didnt see the crowd trouble, which occurred when his team was trying to mount a comeback.I dont like this type of situation. Its important to see always the right atmosphere, Conte said. Above all in England, we are used to see(ing) the right atmosphere. This country is fantastic in this aspect. Im sorry about this situation. ' ' '