DETROIT (May 28, 1996) - The U.S. 500, based on results from a post-race spectator survey, already has built a future foundation from the success of its inaugural event that attracted an overflow crowd of 110,879 on Sunday, May 26, at Michigan International Speedway. U.S. 500 Exit Poll Indicates
Race is a Winner
U.S. 500 SPECTATORS ALREADY GEARED UP
FOR NEXT YEAR'S EVENT
According to an exit poll conducted with 456 U.S. 500 spectators by Sponsorship Research International, an overwhelming 94 percent of the fans said that they would come back to the U.S. 500 next year. A majority of that sentiment can be traced to the 91 percent who said that they enjoyed the race that was won by PPG Cup points leader Jimmy Vasser of the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing team.
"The very positive results of an exit poll confirm what was evident to everyone at MIS - the fans had a great day at the track," said Andrew Craig, IndyCar president and chief executive officer. "It's remarkable to have obtained such positive results for a brand-new event and, clearly, we have created a strong and enthusiastic fan base on which to build."
The allure of the quality and star appeal of The Inaugural U.S. 500 drew the knowledgeable fan as well as the new, and attracted them from a large geographic radius.
Twenty-two percent of the fans polled were attending their first race and 49 percent were making their initial appearance at Michigan International Speedway. The U.S. 500, which had 33 percent of the spectators making a round trip of 400 miles or more, attracted fans from each of the 50 states to make it a truly national event.
The attendance of 110,879, which included a sellout of nearly 90,000 grandstand seats, was a record for an IndyCar race at Michigan International Speedway and the largest race-day crowd of any PPG Indy Car World Series event this season.
"The U.S. 500 was a completely new event and we only had five months to put the whole thing together," said Rena Shanaman, general manager of the U.S. 500. "Despite those challenges, we were able to create an event that was enjoyed by the fans and gained their support for the future. Just think of what we can achieve with a full 12-month planning cycle."
The Inaugural U.S. 500, round six of the PPG Indy Car World Series, kicked off the busiest schedule of the season with four more events in the next five weeks. Each of those races - the Miller 200 in Milwaukee (June 2), ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix (June 9), Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 in Portland, Ore. (June 23) and the Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland (June 30) - will be televised live on ABC-TV.
Source: IndyCar News Service
