With regard to the last few posts,
Just because I'm the only one you see posting this opinion, does not mean I'm the "only" one that recognizes the problem.
I'm just willing to point out the elephant in the room.
I think the fact that Jerry has voiced his concerns as he has, is a good indicator that there are some clarifications and enforcement needed.

And Jerry,
Yes you have nailed the primary objective of our warbird racing. Once you build a plane and get it tweaked to your liking. You must then learn the correct nitro and prop to use for a given race day. Might even have to change prop and/or nitro as the day progresses. If your particular setup is capable of ludicrous speed, then you don't have to nail the start at zero on the clock. This lets you size up the competition as your flying the race. Hopefully you know which guys are known for "flying the time" and you can pace off them to them make a judgement call on the last two laps or so as to whether or not to let your fangs come out. Or if your plane is just capable of the breakout under optimal circumstances, you may want to run closer to the zero on the start and hang tight on the pylons for the whole race.
I have heard many say that we aren't really "racing".
I can't disagree more. We have to know our planes and how best to make them run the numbers, and when you have a group of guys that are all equally capable with all their planes running right, well, I defy anyone that has actually been involved in a tight 4 plane heat to deny that they were in a "race".



Also, here is an old video from a few year ago that kind of gives an idea of how a gold race can go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5YQv4dgnSU