Entry level class?

[Paul Merolla]

We see this term, "Entry Level" come up over and over on this site...what does it actually mean?
Other than a handful of times racing in Trophy with my street car, I had never entered a drag race before starting in Stock.
It just depends what you want to do, how bad you want it, how much knowledge and skill you possess, and how much money you can spend. If you don't have enough of any of those, it's going to take some time to gather resources.
Does "Entry Level" mean that anyone can wake up one day and decide they want to race NHRA, go get whatever equipment they can get their hands on, and be competitive that weekend? If so, it doesn't exist...in drag racing, or any other form of competition, there is a learning curve.
If I was going to label any class in drag racing Entry Level, it would be one of the bracket classes like Trophy or Sportsman...but even in those classes, when you show up for the first time, everyone else is going to be better than you!