[Dan Bennett]

There is no doubt that sportsman payouts are insulting and ludicrous. And yes, there is a total difference between the ways that they and alcohol cars are treated. But I think the real problem is that the track operators are backed into a corner and have no real way to improve things.

I've had many operators tell me that it makes all the difference in the world if alcohol is on the program. Casual fans who know nothing and care little about class cars will come out to see something fast, loud, and sadly that occasionally catch on fire. They've told me that those customers make a big difference in whether the race is a success for them or not.

I agree they should pay their own way, and even that it makes so much sense and is the right thing to do I don't think any of the track owners would like removing them from the show. So to me, just like so many other things, this falls back onto the NHRA. They need to come up with a system where a track owner running any sort of their events has a decent chance to make money. I don't see that as something they care about at all. They've made so many cuts which hurt the racers' experience but none that have affected themselves. I'm pretty sure they could rebalance the costs to tracks to make it fair for everybody.