[Don Eckel 111]

IMO, the cost of building and maintaining a car and the economy are two of the main contributing factors. The cost of parts and maintenance is self explanatory and have gone up substantially in recent years. But the economy is two fold. Those with regular jobs who were on the edge of competing(or at least competing more often) based on finances, have cut back or parked completely. It becomes much tougher to take time off when work is slimmer. I've found that even those who used to come to the track to help crew can't do it as often for the same reasons. Also consider, in a slow economy, even though they may be better off financially than independent workers, business owners may need to spend more time at the business to make sure it stays afloat. I don't know of anyone personally who has stayed home because of the new fuel.