Quote:
Originally Posted by JP1738
Well no offense, but that's the easy answer. Nobody on this forum races for the money. Don't get me wrong, winning money is great, but if that's all you cared about, you wouldn't be running STK/SS or drag racing in general. Excellence should be rewarded, and the trip needs to be justified before you go. Payouts and contingency need to be defined and sufficient, but there's an amount of prestige the iron man holds that I believe is great than 4th round loser's round money.
What kind of payout is reasonable to you? Be specific. Entry with expected car count, winner, r-up, semis, quarters, etc.
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No, Stock and Super Stock racers do not JUST race for many, the way big money bracket racers do.
However, I come from a time when good racers could finance their racing with their winnings. That hasn't been the case in at least a decade or two. If you compare the SHRINKING purse to the escalating cost of a competitive class operation, it's literally INSULTING. Entry fees have gone up 2-3 times, plus additional costs with the sanctioning bodies, and the purse absolutely has not. Further, the sanctioning bodies drove the contingency sponsors out. I know several sponsors personally, and they way they were treated, and their money was taken, borders on criminal. When you consider the current level of spending required to take a truly competitive car racing, the potential for return on investment is absolutely a slap in the face.
It's not that Stock and Super Stock racers race for money, many know that a real win is often not likely in their future. But that fact that a big win would barely pay for the trip is just ridiculous. A racer wants to think that if he managed to actually pull it off, and that's the dream, that the payout would be at least somewhat impressive. These days, winning a national event would be like hitting the powerball and getting $10,000.