There have been some excellent points brought up in this thread about the current state of Drag Racing and I agree with the majority of them. I raced every year from 1989 till 2007. I raced as much as I could and I sacrificed other things in my life to make it happen. Over the years I was very successful and I was fortunate to win more races than I can remember as well as multiple championships in various classes.

I "retired" after the 2007 season because for me the fun was gone. We have all heard from our parents about how great it was back in the old days and when it comes to racing I feel that it's true! Back in the day it seemed that we were all on a level playing field. Most of the cars were home built, 1000 hp crate engines were a pipe dream, a really fast bracket dragster ran in the eights and if you had a 10 second door car you were something. Everyone started racing their street car and the majority of the race cars were built in the garage. There was a respect for the racers that came before us and when the "old guys" spoke we all listened. When I started if you had a trailer and not a tow bar you were the man. If the trailer had a tool box on it you were approaching god like status! When you went to the gas station to fill the tow vehicle up for your journey there was always someone interested in what you were doing and where you were going. People asked questions and on more than one occasion I had a spectator come up to me in the pits and tell me that they had seen my car on the trailer at the gas station or in front of the grocery store. It peaked their interest, took the TIME to look into it and were at the track checking it out for the first time. In those days a regular guy could walk through the pits and think with a few improvements I could bring out my street car and maybe with some practice be competitive. Not any more!!! Not in this day and age of Bickel chassis, mountain motors, Toterhomes, Stacker Trailers, multiple car teams, uplinks to the NASA weather station, Data recorders. The young kids that are racing today are getting into daddy's ex pro stock car the day after they get their drivers license and most of them have no respect for the car they are in, the trouble it can cause or the racer in the other lane. When an "old timer" speaks they sluff them off. My crew chief (normally Mom or Dad - aka the pocket book!) has to work on the car. I have to answer a text or post something stupid on twitter. The reason drag racing is dying is because when average folk go to a drag race they are smart enough to realize that they have no chance to compete if they need all the fancy stuff. And as you walk through the pits at any track, take a look around. What is sitting there is the reason new people are not getting involved. That and the fact that no one knows what is in the white box on the highway or where it is going!!!

I agree that there are other factors, The economy, the increasing cost etc. However I am a firm believer that if the fun is still there racers will find a way to participate at some level. The opportunity maybe different than it was, but if the fun is still there most will still find a way.

In my case I am still looking for the fun! I think someone may have run off with it in their stacker or driven over it in their Bickle GTO.