Good points have been raised here, but using SM as a comparision might not be entirely appropriate.

SM is a very new category, and in the begining, the promise of close racing at a cheap price in a reliable, fun to drive car was a huge carrot. And lots of guys who thought, "I'm a MUCH better diver, its my CAR thats holding me back, because the guys at HQ won't class it fairly" thought they'd jump in SM and run right to the front. And at first, some did....the cars weren't THAT well prepped, and the fields were still forming. But gradually, as more guys decided to join the party, the guys who thought they'd be stars began to discover that maybe their driving wasn't THAT good, and we're seeing some understandable loss of subscription.

Some guys of course are still crying that they ARE great drivers, but they are being outspent, and in some cases, they might just be.

The bottom line?

If you want to be at the top of a popular category/class, you're going to need lots of talent, and it's going to cost, .....

If you want to win cheap, find the smallest pond.
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Yeah Jake if you ignore the rules creep that started as soon as SM went national then your right the examples have not been good ones. As far as everything should cost what it cost argument you are starting to sound like Mattberg with that stuff. The Cup guys would never have replacements if there were not local dirt tracks to get guys started.