I've only shot RAW a few times, and the results have been extremely underwhelming. There was no contest that jpeg's were far and away better than RAW images.

So, a couple of questions, since I really know nothing about RAW...

Since I shoot for a local race track and have to get 4 to 5 action shots of every car competing each week, I end up shooting 800 to 1200 shots in a 3 to 4 hour period. Is RAW a practical choice or consideration for this type of shooting?

What program do you use to edit your RAW images? (My regular editor is Photoshop Elements 5)

How did you learn to edit RAW photos? The few times I have experimented with RAW, the results, as mentioned, were not good. I figure it's probably because I have no idea what I'm doing, and probably using a less than optimal program. (I used something called Raw Shooter Essentials)

Thanks for any answers, thoughts, or suggestions; they will be greatly appreciated.