The 24 on Jeff Gordon's car or the 20 on Tony Stewart's are instantly recognizable to fans and the number 3 will always be synonymous with Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Las Vegas native Kyle Busch, left, against Jeff Gordon, center, and Matt Kenseth during the NASCAR UAW-Dodge 400 race March 2 at Las Vegas Moter Speedway. STEVE MARCUS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

A few other numbers, however, such as $10, $25, and two for $300, were also drawing a lot of fan interest at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during NASCAR weekend. Those numbers represent the retail price of earmuffs, a T-shirt and intercom headsets respectively, and all were selling very well.

Retail sales are important to the business of NASCAR - and business is good.

On race weekend there is a huge space between the parking lots and the speedway entrance that is reserved for vendors. It seems there is a trailer filled with merchandise for just about every driver, and the "big name" drivers have several. Earnhardt Sr., who died after a crash at the Daytona 500 in 2001, still has at least six trailers that sell his memorabilia.

Orbreyn Williams, who runs one of those trailers, says merchandise for number 3 is still among the most popular.

"I don't think fans will ever let him go," Williams said.

Gary Fagan of Sparks is determined to keep the memory of his favorite driver alive. The 65-year-old fan put his money where his mouth is by having a dental crown emblazoned with the number 3 implanted over a molar.

"My dentist is also a big NASCAR fan, and when he suggested it, I decided it was a good idea," Fagan said.

Now Fagan has a memory of his favorite driver that will last as long as his dentist's reputation.

Williams, from Martinsville, Va., has been selling merchandise at NASCAR races for 25 years. Since he started out, NASCAR has added several races and lots of miles to its season. What used to be a business restricted mostly to the East Coast has become a yearlong, cross-country excursion.

Gary Fagan of Sparks shows off his crown with the number "3" in front of the Dale Earnhardt Sr. merchandise trailer at Las Vegas Moter Speedway on Feb. 29. STEVE MARCUS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

"It's pretty much a full-time job now," Williams said.

And, it would seem, a lucrative one. Williams would not reveal his profits, but said he "makes a decent living," and the steady stream of customers throughout the weekend seemed to bear that out.

While business was brisk at the Dale Earnhardt Sr. trailers, it was nothing compared to the take at the Dale Earnhardt Jr. trailers. Spurred by the move to a new team, complete with a new car number, fans could not get enough of the younger Earnhardt's merchandise.

Green T-shirts and hats bearing Earnhardt Jr.'s number 88 seemed to be everywhere. Fans were lined up at least 10 deep at trailers displaying his merchandise all weekend.

Canadian Bruce Sheppard of Vancouver, B.C., had no problem plunking down about $250 to stay current with Earnhardt Jr,'s merchandise.

"I wish he had kept Budweiser as a sponsor, but that's the business of sports," Sheppard said.

Like Fagan, Sheppard made a wiser decision when it came to his more permanent memorabilia. He admits Earnhardt Jr. is his favorite driver, but had Earnhardt Sr.'s number 3 tattooed on his leg.

"With drivers changing numbers and teams so much, I didn't want to get a tattoo and have the driver switch on me," Sheppard said. "Here's one guy's number I know they won't be changing."

Of course, Sunday's Sprint Cup race is just part of the NASCAR weekend events and spending.

There was also Saturday's Nationwide Series race, as well as practice and qualifying for both races on Friday that also presented plenty of additional buying opportunities.

STEVE MARCUS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Weekend terrace packages for all of the races and qualifying cost $257. The less expensive grandstand packages ran between $117 and $225 for the weekend with single-day seats costing anywhere from $25 for qualifying day to $161 for Sunday's race.

Fans could also purchase Neon Garage Passes, which included access to pit road but did not include gate admission. The cost for one of these was $129 on Friday and $149 on race days, and they were a hot ticket.

One hour before Sunday's race the tunnel leading from the garage to the grandstand was completely filled with fans hurrying to get back to their seats before the race started.

So why would fans spend $257 for a weekend seat, then plunk down another $300 to hang out at the garage before the races?

The answer, it seems, is because they could.

Professional sports fans love access to their athletes, and a garage pass is like having access to the football field and the locker room before an NFL game.

The cars are right there, with pit crews working away minutes before the race and at any given time a big-name driver is apt to walk by. Throw in a little live music and some overpriced food and the fans are in NASCAR heaven.

"Very cool" is how Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a prerace speaker for Sunday's race, described the weekend. "It was great seeing 150,000 people at one event. It's one of the many components that will lead to us having major league sports in many areas."

A few longtime fans complained that drivers are not as accessible as they used to be, but they still seem to be among the most fan-friendly athletes in professional sports.

Jeff Gordon signed autographs after his Friday press conference and Michael Waltrip shook hands and stopped to talk with fans as he passed through the garage area as well.

Carl Edwards, Sunday's race winner, spotted a very young fan in a motorized wheel chair as he walked through the Media Center about 90 minutes before the race.

While he probably should have been thinking about other things, such as possibly scraping paint with Gordon in a few hours, Edwards instead leaned down and talked to the young fan.

"How's your weekend going, are you having a good time?"

It wasn't orchestrated as there didn't appear to be any television cameras or photographers in sight. Edwards, like a lot of people associated with NASCAR, just seems to recognize the value of fans and a young guy who will probably never do a backflip off of anything got a memory he won't soon forget.

With more than $2 billion in annual merchandise sales and a nongaming economic impact to the region of more than $133 million for the local race, according to last year's LVCVA numbers, NASCAR, it seems, has the marketing thing figured out.

The drivers are the attraction, but the fans seem to be the stars.