NASCAR among those seeking the spotlight

FONTANA, Calif. --- There was a lot of competition for the entertainment dollar in Southern California on Sunday.

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Not only did NASCAR run the Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway, but also the PGA Tour was at Riveria Country Club, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were handing out Oscars and cycling enthusiasts were lining up to watch Lance Armstrong in the Tour of California. No wonder there were thousands of empty seats at the racetrack, especially with a threat of rain in the final hour.

"I don't know how many fans there are in this area. But it happens from time to time in certain markets and I think this is probably one of those unique ones that stand out, that there are just so many forms of entertainment for this area," Jeff Gordon said.

"There are other things that are going on. And that's not something that we have say in the Midwest, where we just pack the stands."

DAYTIME DRAMA: Jeff Burton was surprised to see the number of NASCAR fans on the set of General Hospital . The driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet was included in a recent episode that will air on March 18.

"I played me so I dressed like me," he said. "I don't walk around everyday with my fire suit on believe it or not."

A lot of the people on the set asked for autographs.

"They were really interested in it," he said. "There was a lot of race fans there, a lot of guys that had die-casts that they wanted signed and pictures they wanted signed. ... There was actually a lot of interest. There were a lot of race fans."

PETTY EXPLAINS KYLE: Richard Petty , whose name fronts a new race team after a merger with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, hasn't seen his son, Kyle , since Christmas.

Petty said his son remains upset with the merger and is looking to drive full-time in the Grand American Sports Car Series and doing more television work.

"He's been so busy; I've been so busy," Richard Petty said. "I spoke to him a couple times on the phone; you can't get much done on the phone.

"... He was really crushed that we didn't include him in that part of it, and I can understand that. We were so busy trying to get our end of the deal done and make it work with a new team that it fell through the crack and I'm sorry that it did."

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