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However I would say the best chance to make money in drag racing is running high dollar bracket races.
That's not necessarily the case. In big money bracket racing, the initial entry fee doesn't look as high compared to what the winner's purse is, but you also have 1 and sometimes 2 rounds of buybacks. You're also looking at higher car counts, which combined with the buybacks means that you're going to have to go 9 or even 10 rounds to make the finals. Every additional round cuts your percentage chance of winning dramatically.
Also, big money races are notoriously top-heavy, so everybody wants to split, as far back as 8 cars. I was both the winner *and* the runner-up of the Sunday $10K race when I doubled-entered the World Footbrake Challenge in '08. I was hot-lapping the car like mad, and when they started talking split, I didn't even get involved, and let them sort things out, as I just needed to go down the track again and keep my head in the game. As it turns out, after the split and giving a cut of the winnings to a sponsor who paid for the 2nd entry, I think I ended up with about HALF, and that was for Win *AND* RU! Still a great day's work, don't get me wrong, and the highlight of my career, but the numbers don't end up as good as they look... unless you're John Labbous, Jr.
(refer to the K&N Spring Fling 20's...)
Back to rounds... if your round-win percentage is 75%, your chance of winning 1 round is 75%. Winning two consecutive round is .75x.75 = 56%, and so on. Your chance of winning a big money bracket race is 8%, while your chance of winning a 6-round NHRA/IHRA Class race is 18%. You can accidentally win a 4-round race!
I actually made a spreadsheet at one time that factored in entry fees, payouts, fuel costs/travel time, # of races in a weekend, etc., to generate a "factor" of potential return on investment of one race vs another.
Right now, IHRA races offer the best return on investment, in my opinion: More races in less days, and although it's a totally different subject as to why the car counts are lower right now, the fact is that we've seen some 4 and 5-round races, for around $5K. At any bracket race, you'll be lucky to get your entry fee back after 5 rounds. Additionally, most bracket races aren't going to get near the coverage that an IHRA or NHRA event will get -- and that's going to make a lot of difference to sponsors. NHRA events have a higher potential payout, but you're also going to pay more (in advance), you're going to have to be there for 4-5 days (losing some work days), and you're probably going to have to go 7 rounds to win, cutting your chances in half. On the plus side, sponsors like the prestige of NHRA events. So once again, risk vs reward.
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A profit? You have got to be kidding!
I love ya, Jeff, but you're right.... you're not going to make a profit with a DragPak or Hemi car! You could duplicate my car/truck/trailer for under $40K, and that's something you can pay off... and I have. It took time and help from some very good people to get started, but today, even including maintenance, rebuilds, and updates, every penny of my racing operation is free and clear, paid off. I've spent money on performance for class racing, too. The car is half a second quicker than when I bought it -- technically money that I didn't need to spend, but 1) I wanted to, and 2) it's a strategic advantage.
'Nuff for now...