Speedy, you missed out on some really fun racing if you didn't get to experience the old timers. I was thinking about how expensive the sport has become and after a long time thinking on this, I feel the blame goes to Roger Penske. The reason is that Roger was also involved in the much higher tech racing in USAC and later CART series, and since Roger had never won a championship in NASCAR, he wanted an upper hand and thus began to use the technology of the open wheeled cars, i.e. exotic metals. Of course, if Roger hadn't started it, someone else would have, but it might have been later coming. I can tell you that sponsorship indeed is needed in the Whelen Modified series, there are winners there that don't have major sponsors. But one thing is for certain, if you have a good sponsor who will give big money, your chances of winning are much better.
BTW, as you are aware, Richard Childress is a big time car owner who has three Cup cars and a gazillion dollars worth of cars and equipment. There was a time though that Richard worked on his own car that he raced, in his own garage right here in Winston Salem. But what is more crazy is that I believe it was Buck Baker, maybe another driver, who drove a showroom car to the track, slapped a number on it and raced it and won...with street tires.
Of how I pine for those old days when drivers were DRIVERS!
