I'm one of those 'little guys' also. If you want to play with the big dogs and beat them then you better research EVERY aspect of your racing program. It has to be a downright SCIENCE project that consumes you 1000 %. Cuz that is what THEY are doing AND have money to buy the BEST in parts and machine work.
Do you want to beat 'em just once or on a continuous basis ? Once, it'll take a bucket of money, repeatedly it will take dump trucks full of dough. Then you become 'one of them' !
You might want to start with a smaller goal, attain that, set a newer higher goal, attain that, and so on. EVERY goal that you attain, the information and experiences gained along the way will become priceless and absolutely necessary to make it to the top. You eat an elephant one bite at a time.
You will lose a LOT and win, MAYBE a few. Keeping the fire alive is your ULTIMATE challenge.
We're all here to advise in any way we have expertise or experiences with. Good Luck, Cowboy !