I think what Lucas is trying to say is that if there is a pretty good pilot out there whom is not sponsored by 50 different companies that has potential to one day be in the rankings with the big dogs, he takes a great finacial loss when he plows a plane under. Crashing the plane can set him back for a few months at the least and he may never get to be as good as the big shots b/c of that.

As far as the sponsored pilots being better??
A top dog sponsored pilot once told me that the companies are not looking for the winner. They are looking for a guy with pretty good talent who places in the top 3 or so everytime. The key is the pilots attitude. They would rather have someone who is #3 whom is approachable, hangs out with the right crowd, and plays the social game than #1 who kicks @$$ picks up his awards and goes home without the small talk.