It's a smaller venue and multiple laps are the only way to get a decent length course. There are a lot fewer people than come to ACU-4 (35-50 typically), so the race takes about the same amount of time.

And yeah, prices went up because Pungo started charging ODR-SCCA more to rent, and because attendance has been down (presumably from the economy). It's still not bad for a day of racing; we're lucky to have a 2nd venue like this so close.