Thanks in part to a number of difficult factors that racers are currently being presented with, the NHRA has faced rather unprecedented struggles in the early part of the season to attract racers in its Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series sportsman eliminators.

As of noon on Thursday, entries in Super Stock and Stock Eliminator at next weekends O’Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals in Houston currently stand at 21 and 34, respectively. And this is at a race featuring class eliminations that tends to draw extra entries from heads-up hungry racers. Even Super Gas, traditionally one of the most popular of the sportsman categories, has just 39 entries less than a week before racers are set to arrive in Houston. In all, with every category on the fight card, including Pro Modified, both Top Alcohol classes, Super Street, and Top Sportsman, only 65% of the maximum stated quota have submitted entries.

The entry list for next months Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals in Atlanta follows much the same trend, with only one sportsman category currently north of 15 cars.

What this seems to point to is not only fewer racers interested or financially able to attend NHRA national events, but a reluctance to enter as they wait until virtually the last minute to determine if their bank accounts can withstand the expense.

There was a time (we’re talking just a handful of years ago) that sportsman racers needed at minimum 2-3 “grade points” to enter a national event, with upwards of 4-5 required at select races. These days, all it takes in many cases is one and if things continue on their current trend, the whole grade point system may eventually cease altogether.

The current average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in Texas is $3.74 and $3.98 for diesel, and the rest of the Division 4 region only differs by a couple cents at the pump in either direction. Add to that an untimely increase in the sportsman entry fee this season coupled with the two decade flat-line of the payout and its easy to see why racers are opting to stay home.