James, it's called 'play money' for a reason... I know enough of my local buddy's that have pulling trucks... it hurts, but they will build another one and still have food on the table. Crazy the money they can sink into a motor alone.
Holy cow is right.. I was at a 4wd truck pull many years ago and an old Ford blew a gear out of the transfer case and it whizzed by my head. That was the last 4wd truck pull I ever attended.