Depends. I've won pulls in my gasser with MUCH less HP than some of my opponents by watching the track. A soft spot can really suck the momentum out of a truck and it's done. One track there was a low spot on the left side of the track and quite a bit of rain the night before, while the whole track looked dry, I noticed the class before me if any truck went left they were stopping much shorter than the right (you could see the momentum drop). Guys were heading to the low spot as they thought it was like pulling downhill and better, but they would lose momentum when the tires and sled it the soft spot. I stayed high right and walked all over them (many scratching their heads). Not saying the sled operator isn't shady, but sometimes the track can be what gets you.
I think he put 6' on Dad . Dad stayed high all the way and I'm thinking he could have made up a little bit by driving diferent . But Lance's truck is tough I'm not thinking he would have beat him . Lance was hooked up to the track , he had a better setup that night .