Quote Originally Posted by Bill Miller View Post
. It's also why you pay 4x - 6x more for a 'pro' SM motor than you do a crate motor from MazdaSpeed. Part of that is that everybody isn't running the same car, so you don't know if the variability is in the car, the prep, or the nut behind the wheel.
This is true, but, there's more:

Diminishing returns comes into play.
In SM, you spend your savings fund to get teh last 2 HP, because that will be either enough to keep up with the guys who already have it, or you want to be ahead of the curve. When EVERY car is the same, 2 HP can be a deciding factor.

In IT, it's impossible to know if spending your last nickle on 2 HP will be enough to make a difference. A, it's impossible to compare, and B, you might be sufficiently ahead or behind another make/model, that it's irrelevant.

For that reason, IT build have a potential savings element. (Assuming all things being 'equal'.... same basic economics, not discussing Chevy builds vs Porsche builds)

Those who run Nationals tells us the 'cost' is having to travel and the requirement to, in a competitive class, have the quiver of tires for situations, and fresh rubber, etc on the car for every session. That presumes a Runoffs bid, or the desire to be at the top of the class, week in, week out.

IT is cheaper because you don't HAVE to travel (there IS no Ruboffs bid)...but, you CAN spend the same bucks on tires if you so choose, and in some areas of the country, running at the front of an IT field is more expensive that a nationals class...even if you are aiming for the runoffs.