New fans at a test session is a double edged sword.
Some will see the spectacle and want to come back for a "Real Race"
Some will see mostly half track runs or launches and get the idea that, that's what a race looks like and it sucks.
Those of us who have been around a while understand what testing is all about.
But I have heard people leave a test complaining that there were only a couple of 320 MPH runs and feeling "Cheated" that they didn't get to see more.
I went to the NASCAR test in Phoenix this week, lots of cars making laps, nobody passing, nobody running two or three wide, very little on track "Action" and I thought that if I had never seen a NASCAR race and this was my first exposure, I wouldn't buy a ticket to see this. But knowing it was just a test, I understood what they were doing.
I look at it as a bonus for fans that want to come, not as a penalizing those who don't follow the sport enough to buy a race ticket.
If I was the track operator who didn't have a National Event, I would look at it as my only chance to sell Nitro tickets and a chance to steal ticket sales from anther track, and that's a different story.
I know that not everyone agrees.
Alan