I remember in the earlier 2000's I was helping a team and the only concern they had was if they have enough horsepower. The focus wasn't so much chassis, shocks, tires etc as it is now. Shoot I remember we ran which ever tire company gave us the best price (Hoosier or American Racer). Now the average weekend racer can't even buy some tires that some of the Touring guys run.
The cushion was also a foot high at Lernerville.
I think the point of this post is that certain things need to change for our sport to continue to thrive. If we continue on the path we are on we will continue to fall down a bad path and we will end up like NASCAR with 10 fans in the stands. (some tracks are there now)