Good morning, "wing"...what's your name?

Speaking only from my personal perspective and experience, and most assuredly not for anyone directly related to the project, having spectators at road racing events is very expensive and not necessarily worth it. It requires people to manage them (ticket sellers/collectors, parking), infrastructure to support them (parking, food, drinks, rest facilities), and - most of all - significantly increased insurance costs.

As I understand it, Palmer is not - and never was - intended to be a spectator facility. In fact, neither is SCCA Club Racing. Given our limited funds and options for when/where we can build a track, it was an easy decision to choose to avoid those expenses and hassles dealing with allowing spectators.

Hell, even those SCCA weekends that spectators are allowed (all handled by the track, mind you), I could seemingly count the numbers of spectators on my hands and feet (old saw: what's the difference between NASCAR and SCCA Club Racing? In NASCAR the spectators know all the drivers' names; in SCCA the drivers know all the spectators' names...)

However, that does not mean that folks cannot get in as volunteers and crew, with or without an SCCA membership. All it means is that Dad and Mom and the kids can't show up unannounced and pay $40 (or whatever) to get in and watch from the side of the track.

It was a compromise that was fairly easy to accept... - GA