Greg Biffle said the price of gas could affect the fans:

“If people are trying to save money or pinch pennies, they’re going to stay at home and watch on TV or whatever,” Biffle said.

Michigan International Speedway president Roger Curtis said the August race traditionally draws better than the June date. He expects a crowd of more than 100,000 for Sunday’s race. MIS’s reserved grandstand capacity is about 130,000. The last time it sold out was August 2005.

“I think the story is really how many fans are going to be here, not the ones that aren’t,” Curtis said.

Curtis said the turnout at MIS would be a sellout at many of the other tracks on the Cup series schedule.

“It’s tough when you have a normal vehicle and it takes $85 to fill it up, where it used to take about $26.”