Mike Truhe= day job, factory driver, national champ
Frank Root= day job, semi factory driver, nats A main driver
Barry Baker= day job, factory driver, nats winner
The list could go on but these guys are racing in an industry that relies on extra income for people to spend. If you race 1/8th scale you are probably not hurting in the wallet. It's an expensive class.
If you have a problem with a particular person at AE, but you've already found someone that can help you then you probably already passed that info on to him or a manager. I just don't see the logic in calling someone out on a forum, maybe he was having a bad day or maybe you were a dickhead on the phone so he didn't feel like listening to you.