The RichC/Rob Hoffman debate above brings to the forefront one of the big conflicts facing sprint car racing today.

One one hand you've got a sport that, up until very recent times, was pretty downhome in nature and quite self-policing. Fights after on-track altercations used to be pretty common, and for good reason. Getting popped in the eye by a Bobby Kinser or a Jack Hewitt conveyed a clear message: Get your head out of your ass. It was a reliable system.

Nowadays we see our sport on the brink, or moving nearer the brink, of "big time" status. More and more big money operations, tied to big names, keep popping up and more attention on a national scale seems to be afoot. Behind the new money rolling into the pit area are big-name sponsors, all of which certainly hope to be represented in a professional manner.

Now, in today's overly-sensitive and liberal society, those two worlds are meeting. And make no mistake, this show will go one of two ways: Either back to its former state, or on to a new level of corporate involvement. The benefits of the latter are pretty obvious. We all would like to see TV deals, bigger purses and possibly even a non-wing touring series made possible by sponsorship dollars.

But at what cost? Are those things worth sprint car racing losing touch with its roots and identity over? I know I'd rather lose my front teeth in the Paragon pits than receive a slap on the wrist in the "hauler" at some futuristic dirt track palace.