but then... what sport doesn't have exorbitant prices? They're all guilty.
Not sure about what you conjecture regarding Dale. Could be true, I suppose. I don't really live in NASCAR country... lot of race fans here but it is certainly not the South.
But back to Dale... my impression of that tragedy is that people are still in shock. Seriously... the accident just didn't 'look' all that bad... and also, of course, it was Dale... HOW could that happen to Dale?
so as for 'chatter'... around here there never was all that much chatter... so I take your word for it. - JamesJM