So I beat all the races without changing it to winner takes all, because I forgot/didn't realize that was a thing. So, how do I earn more truguts for the more expensive parts? Is the junkyard method (scavenge junkyard for better parts in poor condition, race to repair them, sell them back for a profit) the only way to earn more truguts?

bring up the buy screen then press ''shift'' + ''F4'' + ''4'' up to 5 times to get up to 5,000 credits(1,000 each time)

I am only 4 races into the game, but this is something I was wondering about, too. I fear that by default you cannot max out all the pods in tournament mode - playing the good guy without cheats. Can anyone confirm?
BTW, it is good to know that you can exploit the "trade" feature per OP.
Thanks.

Wait, you're saying that you can't repeat past reaces to earn more truguts?

I was wondering how you obtain money.

I didn't even know winner takes all was a thing. How do you do that?