I think that when it comes down to it, it's all about the mighty dollar. They can sell personalities and drama to the masses better than they can sell racing, competition, and fast cars to true drag racing enthusiasts.

I liked it better when you really didn't know the personalities, you knew the big names because they were good and not because of the sponsor on the car. As a kid I remember going to see 64 Funny Cars and still remember some of the names like Ed the "Ace", Don the "Snake", Jungle Jim, Gene the "Snowman", the Mongoose McEwen, Raymond Beadle and the Blue Max car. The cars were the "personalities" and the names on the side were cool characters... and not just advertisements.

I could really do without knowing what big babies Warren Johnson or Tony Stewart are. Although it does give me somebody to route against.