There was a time when the big-money payday shootouts were exclusive to the professional categories at the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Not anymore, thanks to Competition Eliminator racer and advocate Rodger Brogdon and his Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund.

As part of Brogdon's expansive program, the top 16 points earners will have a chance to race for a $50,000 total purse in the Rooftec Competition Eliminator Cash Clash, with the winner pocketing $30,000 for winning the race-within-a-race. The 16 drivers competing in the event were established at the recently completed NHRA Division 4 doubleheader Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at the Texas Motorplex. 

Multi-time NHRA champion Craig Bourgeois will enter the event as the No. 1 seeded entry because he leads the points in the Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund. 

However, instead of lining up against the No. 9 qualifier as is standard on an NHRA sportsman ladder, Bourgeois will get to draw his placement on the ladder via a chip draw. Brogdon will draw second because of his second-place standing and sportsman veteran Jeff Taylor will go third, and the process will continue until all spots on the ladder fill.  

A Calcutta auction-style event will also run in conjunction with the high-stakes battle royale. Much like a golf-Calcutta, participants in the auction can bid on a competitor, and if that racer were to win, they would get the lion's share of the established pot. Brogdon said Rooftec will establish the first bid at $5000.

"Competition Eliminator is a very complex division; would you expect any different?" Brogdon said of the twists and turns in the program. "It's the biggest drag race in the world, and we believe Competition Eliminator deserves a spot at the table. The racers in the Rooftec Competition Eliminator bonus have battled fiercely in the most significant fields this class has seen in decades."

This season, racers in the Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund have accounted for complete 32-car fields in four of the five NHRA Division 4 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events. 

"The fact no one single racer has been able to win a second race, much less reach a second final round in five races, speaks volumes for the level of competition," Brogdon said. "Now you are going to put the best of the best in this series going head-to-head; it's going to be one incredible fight."

Following the Indianapolis event, three events will remain to determine who takes home the $100,000 grand prize for the season champion. The Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund, which lists the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals as a points-earning event in the nine-race series, will add $11,500 to the winner's purse, regardless if they compete in the Rooftec series. 

The $350,000 season-ending total payout delivers funding down to the No. 10 finisher. 

Six of the 16 competitors in the Competition Eliminator Cash Clash are racers based outside of Division 4. There are 14 of the 38 point earners from divisions outside the NHRA's Southcentral. 

Brogdon said his motives for supporting Competition Eliminator are for one reason only. He wants to ensure the long-term existence of a class he adores. 

"People talk about how there are issues in drag racing, and for many of them, that's what they do; they just talk," Brogdon explained. "These racers and the companies that have supported the D4 Competition Eliminator program both in participating and helping to sponsor the program are making a difference. It takes us all to make sure our class remains healthy and viable. It will be too late when someone has to run their Econo Altered in Super Stock."