Well, one could argue that it requires a different skill set to navigate a car around a small track as fast as the car is capable of going (7T, or whatever) than it does to get around the track as quickly as possible with much less speed. Could the guys that are good at driving fast be better at driving slow (stock) than the guys who do it all the time?
I just think it's unfair to assume that if you're better, you should go faster. There are nuances of getting the most out of a slow car that are fun, perhaps more so than getting the most out of a fast car, for some people. Again, it's unfair to force people into something different than what they choose to be good at.
Basically, what I'm trying to say, is that I don't think it's correct to look at mod as being the next level. It's different, and requires unique skills, but we should reevaluate the paradigm that it's the next step, because clearly that's not the direction things have gone with the new breed of racers. This thread seems intent on forcing people in that direction, and I don't think that's necessarily the right idea.