Good post Bryan! Hope it sinks in to the doubters and puts some of these issues to rest. Doubtful though...
Take a look at the race car pictures on Drag Race Central. You'll see a lot of wheels up action shots that would typically defy that you are racing at 3500+/- density altitude. I looked at the Vegas weather and noticed not only was the Density altitude corrected to around 3500' but the humidity was in the teens. Never raced on the east coast but would suspect if the density corrects to the same 3500' range then the humidity would be 3x to 4x what Vegas saw this weekend.
I've raced numerous times in Vegas in Stock but have not been there in SS yet. The track has NEVER let me down. Heck, I've never heard of anybody having a traction issue in Vegas. For the reasons cited by Bryan I suspect my ET's will be more favorable in terms of comparing to the index especially as I run a 9" slick in SS.
I noticed my friend Don Kennedy in GT/DA was within a few hundreths of his best ever ET's in Vegas this weekend, good for -1.13 under. Now I know he's been making some chassis adjustments but maybe as Bryan says, that SD455 get's tamed just the right amount with that altitude in conjunction with being on a superb track. I'll bet there's not a torquier engine in all of SS than that SD455!
So bottom line, it's more than just the factor that produces these quick ET's.
Stage1, thanks for the compliment. As I noted earlier, AMX is getting some improvements. New Advanced Clutches dual disk clutch, motor plates, ladder bars (still with 9" slicks), coil-overs, floor pans, oil pan, headers, FAST O2 sensors, and a bunch of nick-nacks. The shop I'm using is not known for fast delivery...