Yes, it will!

Reindeer, you are absolutely right! I did think long and hard, but I decided to go with LiPo.

You do get more Voltage, more than 8V if it's freshly charged, that's why I use a regulator (see it on the VXR page). The advantage is that you have constant Voltage throughout the race, and the regulator tells you by LED when your pack gets near depletion.

The LiPo-Packs are much smaller than comparable NiMH, so you can cushion them really good with foam inside the radio box against crashes. VXR say that their packs do not explode or catch fire but they simply swell up and are rendered useless. I hope I'll never find out if they're right or wrong.
As far as disposing the packs: If you treat a LiPo-Pack the right way and only use it on weekends, it could live longer than you.