This is the largest performance-based payout in drag racing history. It\u2019s not a season-long championship fund or a points payout. It\u2019s not loaded with contingencies. It\u2019s not theoretical. It\u2019s real. And it\u2019s right there for the taking.<\/p>\n
In the spring of 2024, Jon Asher wrote something in CompetitionPlus.com that\u2019s stuck with me ever since. He said, \u201cThe cash purse offered by NHRA is not only an insult to the competitors who fill the seats with paying customers, it\u2019s demeaning to the very organization that stages those events.\u201d He wasn\u2019t wrong. For too long, we\u2019ve been afraid to talk about money in drag racing. We\u2019ve whispered about payouts while other forms of motorsport \u2013 and frankly, other sports entirely \u2013 have shouted theirs from the rooftops. The purse structure in drag racing has long been a sore subject, but if we want Fortune 500 companies to take this sport seriously, we have to start talking like we\u2019re worth it. We have to show that we believe it ourselves.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t a new problem. In 1971, drag racing legend Don Garlits was invited on a USO tour with Richard Petty, A.J. Foyt, and Mario Andretti. The racers got to talking about prize money, and when Garlits mentioned that his richest payday was $7,400 \u2013 including contingencies \u2013 they laughed at him. Not out of disrespect, but out of disbelief. That moment embarrassed Garlits so much that he helped form the Professional Racers Association and put on an event at Tulsa International Raceway that offered $25,000 to win \u2013 a sum that forced NHRA to raise their own purses and re-evaluate their structure. That one moment of laughter became a catalyst for change.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what the Elite Motorsports Million<\/a> is for me. It\u2019s not just about ego or attention \u2013 it\u2019s about turning the tide. Because I believe in something I think too many people have forgotten:\u00a0a rising tide lifts all boats.<\/em><\/p>\n The phrase is most often credited to John F. Kennedy, but the sentiment predates him by generations. In the context of drag racing, I believe it applies now more than ever. I\u2019ve heard the critiques \u2013 that this money could\u2019ve gone to sportsman racing, or bracket racers, or been spread around more evenly. I get it. I\u2019ve lived in that world. But I also believe we need to make investments in the parts of our sport that can shine the brightest, the loudest, and the farthest. And in my eyes, that\u2019s Pro Mod.<\/p>\n Pro Mod has long been the universal language of drag racing. It\u2019s contested around the world. It\u2019s accessible. It\u2019s relatable. It\u2019s diverse in every way imaginable \u2013 in power adder, in chassis, in engine combination, in car body, in competitor. In 2024 alone, more than 150 drivers competed in national and regional Pro Mod series in North America, and nearly 100 different drivers made runs in the Drag Illustrated Winter Series. That\u2019s not just participation \u2013 that\u2019s\u00a0movement<\/em>. That\u2019s momentum.<\/p>\n Pro Mod is the tip of the spear, and if we can drive attention, energy, and investment into it, the impact ripples across the entire sport. More media. More marketing. More people in the stands. More sponsors entering the ecosystem. More opportunity \u2013 not less \u2013 for everyone involved. It\u2019s not about who gets what piece of the pie. It\u2019s about\u00a0making a bigger pie.<\/em><\/p>\n And speaking of big, let\u2019s talk money. You want to know why we don\u2019t have more big brands in drag racing? Why we\u2019re not seeing Fortune 500 logos on the side of trailers or activation zones filled with tech companies and beverage brands? It\u2019s because the numbers \u2013 in many cases \u2013 just don\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n In 2024, the American Cornhole League handed out nearly $8 million in total prize money. World Chase Tag paid out $50,000 in a single event. Competitive eating offered $100,000 to the winner of a hot dog eating contest on Netflix. There are rock-paper-scissors tournaments paying five figures to winners. It\u2019s crazy \u2013 but it\u2019s also proof of something: the money follows\u00a0visibility<\/em>, and visibility follows\u00a0bold moves<\/em>. Someone had to be the first to say, \u201cHey, we\u2019re playing tag for 50 grand.\u201d Or \u201cWe\u2019re going to crown a world champion in cornhole and pay them six figures.\u201d That\u2019s what this is. That\u2019s what we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n Will winning the Elite Motorsports Million be easy? Hell no. You\u2019re talking about fifteen straight round wins in one of the most competitive classes in the world. The baddest door cars on earth. The best tuners. The deepest fields. And that\u2019s what makes it so damn exciting.<\/p>\n If someone can pull it off, they won\u2019t just win a million dollars \u2013 they\u2019ll become an icon. A legend. Just like when Bill Elliott became \u201cMillion Dollar Bill\u201d after winning three of NASCAR\u2019s four crown jewel races in 1985. That move \u2013 the Winston Million \u2013 helped elevate NASCAR into the national conversation. It was one of the sport\u2019s most ambitious promotional efforts, and it worked. It wasn\u2019t easy. But it made people\u00a0care<\/em>. It got them talking. And that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re doing here.<\/p>\n I know this sport has history. I know there\u2019s tradition. But I also know that too often, we let tradition become a prison. Too many decisions are made based on what was done before \u2013 not what could be done next. We\u2019ve spent decades chasing the ghosts of drag racing past, but growth doesn\u2019t happen by looking backward. It happens when we go\u00a0outward.<\/em><\/p>\n The Elite Motorsports Million is a challenge. It\u2019s a spark. It\u2019s a rallying cry for what this sport can be if we dare to think bigger. We\u2019re not asking for permission. We\u2019re just\u00a0doing it.<\/em><\/p>\n Not everyone will love it. Some will doubt it. That\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n But someone \u2013 maybe even someone reading this right now \u2013 is going to win it. And when they do, they won\u2019t just change their life\u2026<\/p>\n They\u2019ll change the sport.<\/p>\n And that, to me, is worth every single dollar.<\/p>\n This story was originally published on July 23, 2025. The post Wes Buck Dishes on Elite Motorsports Million at DI Winter Series<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cWe\u2019re not just putting up a prize \u2013 we\u2019re planting a flag.\u201d I\u2019ve spent the last 18 months working on this \u2013 planning, building, revisiting history, gathering data, talking to legends, pulling quotes, and trying to piece together what could be the biggest move of my career in drag racing. I didn\u2019t do it because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101777\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Drag](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/DI_flat_red-e1711481551475.png\")
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