Dale Junior: It's not just me

   Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes issue with the idea his current career-worst winless streak and lack of winning a Sprint Cup Series title are reasons why some tracks are still dealing with attendance problems.   As Earnhardt has reiterated in the past, he believes economic factors still greatly affect race fans - many of whom travel long distances to the races they attend.    "I don?t really think (TV) viewership and attendance is directly tied to the success of our team. We do have a great fan base and a loyal fan base that I think watches the races regardless of how we?re running. I just think it?s challenging financially for the demographic to afford to come out to a race," the sport's most popular driver said.   "I think hotel prices are really high and gas is really high and just trying to get here and enjoy yourself has become quite expensive. A lot of people are not willing to make that sacrifice. They can sit at home and either watch it on TV or mow the lawn -- I don?t know. I think that it will cycle around and things like this always do kind of have a cycle. It will improve over time. When the confidence is gained in the consumer to come back out and spend that kind of money.?  

automotive automobile muscle car