They drew away the people we've been ignoring, the people who want to get started at a reasonable cost.
As someone whose worked with the national office on this very subject, I wouldn't say ignoring. For several years, the National office and some regions have been quite supportive of the resource I wrote on this very subject - helping people get started at reasonable costs.

Could they do a better job with the challenge? Yes, and the HPDE / Club Racing Experience is key for Club Racing.

It's also a matter of regions doing more as they operate more like a franchise (at least from what I've seen) and bear responsibility for their own marketing and educating efforts.