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Originally Posted by nhramnl

First, I AM saying that money in class racing is a relatively new thing. I am old enough to remember when class racing did not consist primarily of check-writing. The guys in the staging lanes actually built their cars, they didn't just assemble the stuff they paid others to do. Disagree if you want, but I WAS THERE.

I think that one thing that has greatly changed is that the factories have stopped handing out cars like they used to. There was a time when a lot talented racers would get serious help.

They didn't pull their COPO Camaro, transported in a stacker trailer, with a $500,000 motorhome. They towed their home-built car, on an open trailer, with a pickup truck.

I agree, you don't see that much any more. Even when I started it was hard to get a hotel room on race weekends. Now the pits are full of motorhomes and hotel rooms are pretty easy to find. That's one thing that I don't get. You can't say that it is tied to the new cars because it started way before that. Maybe it's an age thing that started it? A lot of the current racers are at an age where they have some "expendable" money for creature comforts?

I'm talking about a very specific group of "racers", who aren't really racers at all. They're "poseurs", who decide to spend their money (hard-earned, or otherwise) on "something cool", like drag racing.

I haven't met many of "those" guys. Several haven't lasted long.

How many "put racing to the side to build a career" guys do you REALLY assume there are?

More than the other kind. I find them much more dedicated and enthusiastic than a lot of the guys who have been at it for a long time.

And why do you single out the rich guys as having "nice stuff".

I didn't.