There's usually ATLEAST one small tire 1/8 mile shootout every weekend at one of the MANY tracks within 3 hours drive of my house paying $2k or better to the winner w/ entry fees from $50 on up.
So yeah, the big money races are expensive and out of reach for most guys to do very often, but there are plenty of smaller races paying more than what most of you guys are used to happening all the time to keep em busy.