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I simply don't understand why every kid with net access and a car wants to stack fets.
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I don't own any Xmods, so I don't post in this section that much. But, what you are saying is very close to my thoughts on the subject. I voiced this same thing back when everyone was hyped to make Bits and Zips go at insane speeds. There is no way to race outside of a drag and making a tiny car so fast that you can't control it just doesn't make sense.
Then, I thought of it as it is. The speed thing is just a big pissing contest. Some males need constant feedback from their peers based on competition. This helps to re-enforce their sense of masculitnity. This behavior is most pronounced in adolescent males as they are just beginning to assert their masculinity and see competition as the only sure way to gauge it.
In the history of technology we have gone from competitions of strength and endurance to ones of video games and many new subsets like microRC racing. The internet has given these adolescents access to information that is beyond their means. But, since they have become a part of an anonymous community, they feel compeld to compete on the level of everyone in the anonymopus community. But, they are no longer competeing with their peers as they would in person. They compete with everyone from novice to expert and only their words, photos, and videos are their proof.
It's easy to see why basic competitions with raw speed become so important to some. It's easy to prove in this medium and it sets guidelines for status. After all, you can't place yourself in the pecking order if you can't physically race each other. It is really irrelivant to these guys if the car becomes competely uncontrollable in a technical race.
The problem with this new type of internet competition is all those destroyed and dishearted youth who end up selling their hobby on Ebay because they destroyed their toys trying to compete in an open arena that anyone of any skill set can enter.
Long explanation I know, but it's the conclusion I came to when this issue first came up in the Zip/Bit threads.
In short, some boys will be boys, even if it destroys their toys.