HAMPTON, Ga. --- To sell tickets for this Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500, Atlanta Motor Speedway president Ed Clark was willing to get up before sunrise and drive 100 miles to appear on a radio show in South Georgia.

He also has run promotions, brought four-time series champion Jeff Gordon to town to spark interest, and made himself available to any media outlet to talk about racing.

In an era of instant messaging and 250 cable television stations, Clark is working the phones and hitting the road in the same manner promoters used to sell tickets for stock car races.

The challenges facing the Atlanta race-track are daunting. The Atlanta area has some of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. Construction projects have halted. Despite being the hometown for many of the sport's sponsors, corporate sales have lagged. Demographics have changed dramatically in the past 10 years with a record-setting influx of African-Americans and Hispanics.

Sellouts used to be common at Atlanta, especially in 1992 when Alan Kulwicki won the championship by 10 points over Bill Elliott in the final race of the year. That race also was the last for Richard Petty and the first for Jeff Gordon.

While drivers and fans rate Atlanta as one of the top tracks on the Sprint Cup Series schedule, in the past three years the number of empty seats has become alarming. During the race last October, for example, there were as many as 40,000 empty seats.

Sunday's race may be more of the same.

Atlanta's primary sports consciousness actually is 74 miles to the northeast in Athens, Ga. -- home of the Georgia Bulldogs. The Atlanta Braves easily are the most-popular professional team, but they struggle to sell out during playoff games.

"We're doing anything and everything," Clark said. "We're doing three times as many interviews. I drive to radio stations. And we've established a priority to offer the very best customer service. Everyone who comes to this race will leave happy."

And hopefully they'll come back.

Track owner Bruton Smith understands the obstacles -- not only for Atlanta, but throughout the entire industry. Nearby Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway hasn't had a sellout in years; Auto Club and Lowe's Motor speedways haven't enjoyed a full house in a long time.

To spark interest for Sunday's race, Clark created a promotion to sell 1,000 tickets for the same price as the winning car number from the Daytona 500. When Ryan Newman won in car No. 12, fans waited all night for the bargain seats. They were sold out in six minutes.

"It's a different day," he said. "People don't have the same kind of disposable income. People are having a difficult time all over."

Clark hopes discounted tickets and a memorable experience will make his job easier in the future.

Until then, he's willing to put in a lot of extra hours -- and miles.

Reach Don Coble at don.coble@morris.com.