I think that you're talking about the Lemons races. To be clear -- this mechanic (forced sale of vehicle) is not common in auto-racing. Very few sanctioning bo

I think that you're talking about the Lemons races. To be clear -- this mechanic (forced sale of vehicle) is not common in auto-racing. Very few sanctioning bodies do this, and they're all bottom-barrel (funding wise) groups like the Lemons endurance events or derby-style cars that aren't expected to have any longevity, anyway. Also, that mechanic has been cheated numerous times. Since the Lemons series doesn't hold the car in escrow or in any other financially or legally binding manner it's up to the seller to be polite and abide by the rules. Plenty of people haven't. They're not usually welcomed back as drivers', they just move to another team and cheat there, instead. The real way to do what you're trying to achieve (create a fair place for those with limited budget to compete in) in automobile racing is by strict classing rules and strict scrutineering. A good example of this is SCCA Solo autocross racing. It's extraordinarily cheap to compete in, and highly competitive. This is achieved through strict rules, tons of bureaucracy, and the threat of tattle-tales in the form of competing teams or drivers. I don't know how that moral can be related back to surgery, but I do believe the Lemons' style of fairness-by-threat-of-sale is flawed.