some of those pics were practice....so not a good example of attendance. that being said, it was down...under 50,000 on sunday i believe. probably a combination of the economy and a "closer" race for easterners (indy). there were hotel vacancies and "special" pricing right up to the last minute. they were cheaper, but still not regular rates (although this is the first year we stayed in a hotel instead of camping, so they were cheap enough).
then again, maybe the 'novelty' of gp racing has worn off for some people....i didn't see tom cruise, brad pitt, pamela anderson OR fabio this year.