Not knowing what the rules will be before you arrive, is nonsense, BUT there are some legitimate reasons for running 1/8 mile over 1/4, at least from the track and sanctioning body's points of view.
In the case of Famoso in Bakersfield, their insurance requires them to put on extra emergency personnel and pay a higher daily premium if cars faster than a certain MPH will be running. This is based on 1/4 mile though, so they duck that rule by only allowing the faster cars to run 1/8 if they want to participate. This crap usually rears it's ugly head at private-rental test days and it's happened to me twice with my ProMod.
Second, in the tire-limited classes especially, the vast percentage of injury wrecks are occuring in the last 1/8 mile of racing. This is because of the speeds these cars are achieving and the amount of HP they are putting (or attempting to put) through a Drag Radial or 10.5 tire. Because of this, several sanctioning bodies have adjusted the rules over the last couple years to limit the Drag Radial classes to 1/8 mile, even while other classes at the same event compete in the full 1/4 mile.
I know this isn't the same as the issues faced at Bowling Green, but I just wanted to share my experiences with some of you that are anti-1/8 mile. It's not all BS and, love it or hate it, it's looking to be the wave of the future as cars get faster and society gets even more litigious.