There are only two times where money comes into play as far as the car, Indy, and a heads up run in eliminations.

That being said, you need to earn grade points to run a National, and even though the National will have a quota for entry, it is an all run field. The only place you have to worry about not qualifying is Indy.

I raced at five divisionals and one open this summer. I get to the track Thursday evening, and was home every Sunday evening. An average weekend cost me around $500 with my entry. Only one weekend was more than that, but most were less. I always viewed it this way, if I went away for three-four days on a "vacation", I'd spend around the same amount of money. Of course, it helps living in D-1 where I have four races within three hours of me.

In the end, it's all in what you want to do with your money. Some people like to go to their local track 20-30 miles away every weekend, some like to chase big money races, and some of us are content running half a dozen divisionals every year, with a little bracket racing mixed throughout. If you honestly want to learn more about class racing checkout Class Racer, or take a weekend and go to an Open or Divisional.