emulate the team in the West Indies two tournaments ago.E

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. Ultra Boost 19 Sale Canada . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. y-3 Store Canada .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/ .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Fake NMD Canada . Howard Ganz, an MLB lawyer, said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that Rodriguezs claims do not come "remotely close" to what is needed to overturn an arbitration decision in federal court. Ultra Boost 4.0 Sale Canada .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner.Englands sensational victory over New Zealand will give them great heart for Sundays ICC World Twenty20 final, says Bob Willis. Eoin Morgans side crushed New Zealand by seven wickets with 17 balls left in the bank to move to within one win of emulating Englands title-winning campaign of 2010.The only blot was Morgans continued poor form - the captain falling for his second golden-duck of the tournament - but Willis says there are enough match-winners in the team to carry the skipper. Kumar Sangakkara and Michael Atherton discuss Englands semi-final win over New Zealand and the performance of Jason Roy It was sensational from start to finish, said Willis. I dont think Ive ever seen an England side play better in a one-day cricket match. It was unbelievable.To win a T20 match with two overs and five balls to go is a real drubbing and that must give England every confidence for Sunday.Eoins form with the bat has been very, very poor as it was during the 50-over World Cup but there are enough people around him performing that his failures havent really mattered so far.Just as when Alastair Cook was struggling in the one-day game, you dont want this run of form to go on for too long. Nasser Hussain called Englands World T20 semi-final win over New Zealand the complete performance Hopefully England will win on Sunday but Im sure that if they trip up and Eoin fails again, the searchlight will be on him.dddddddddddd dont see why England cant win on Sunday. Theyve adapted well and the old cliché is peak at the right time - dont play too well early in the tournament and England have got better and better.After that little hiccup against Afghanistan theyve played superbly against Sri Lanka and now New Zealand. Fingers crossed, theres no reason why they cant emulate the team in the West Indies two tournaments ago.Englands form bears no resemblance to that which undermined their 50-over World Cup campaign last year and Willis says that transformation is, in part, due to the faith shown in the players.Continuity of selection is important - you have to give the selectors some credit for sticking with these guys. Roy picked up the Man of the Match award after his 78 Clearly in this format you are going to have periods where you are going to get early and its going to look awful.But one thing the selectors and Trevor Bayliss have underlined is the athleticism in the field.Now that Plunkett has replaced Topley, these six bowlers work very well together and give Eoin Morgan some realistic options if someone disappears.Jordan has just got better and better in the white ball game and that just comes from confidence and being selected time after time. He just needs to improve his red ball bowling if hes going to be a factor in the Test team.Watch England in Sundays World Twenty20 Final live on Sky Sports 2 this Sunday from 1.30pm. Also See: Hussain hails Roy Sangakkara on England Dream win for Morgan Report: England into final ' ' '