I have a friend that runs a top Alcohol drag boat. from 7th grade we had minibikes hot rods the flat bottom drag boats at Lake Berryessa then he went pro. He said to me without sponsors this wouldn't be possible. A few years ago I went to the drag races when the funny cars were running and a car team car had the same name as the top Fuel hydro boat, I looked for the most important looking person and asked, his eyes light up and we chatted, He knew my friend that ran the Top Alcohol Hydro and started to tell me everything. He changed from boat to cars because of the sponsor money. He said the top fuel cars costs many thousands of dollars per run and I imagine the costs for any pro racing team is similar or higher.