longer is better, it's long overdue.
So we add a minute to an event with 600 racers, and we cut it back to 500 racers... How hard is that??? I suppose it could be argued that it makes it harder for the event to make money with less racers. Okay, so let's add $6 to the entry fee....
After you spend $1000 on flying to, and attending an event like this, I'd rather have the extra track time and a little more elbow room. And honestly, if $6 is the difference between attending and event and financial doom for a person, they should not be going anyway...
Batteries have never been cheaper, my personal cells spend more time in the discharger than they do on the track...
How many people nationally can extract 100% of the power availabe from any large capacity pack, and use it FLAWLESSLY to attain a world championship result? 30-40?
Personally, I don't know that I have ever been beaten by better batteries. I've been beaten A LOT, by better drivers.
If Joe Average club racer handed his average pack to Mike Blackstock, and Blackstock handed Joe average his best pack, would the result of a race between the 2 of them be the same? Yes it would, Blackstock would win both times. Perhaps Joe average needs to spend more money on batteries to be more competitive.
People that claim an additional minute or so on the track would create a "battery war", have no idea what they are talking about. Let's add to that, that most of us now have an additional 400mah to play with that we didn't last season (3800-4200 difference). If everybody in every heat at your local club race, RIGHT NOW, was coming up 30 seconds short on run time, and running their last 3-4 laps at half the speed of their average laps (and sometimes not finishing, due to being out of battery and the car stopped moving), then yes, it would be
silly to lenghten races. However, that is just not the case.
Add to that, if you have to change the gearing on your car to make time (which likely would not be required), but for the sake of debate, let's say you did. Guess what, you're motor isn't going to get as hot... Brushes will last longer, less comm cutting, less wear. Your bodies will last longer because of an increase in driving accuaracy, tires will last longer... yadda...
Locally, we've been fooling with things and running 15 minute 1/12 scale heats, and it's a blast. Double the track time, double the value. Go ahead and divide what you paid for RC stuff, travel, food, lodging, entry fees last year, and divide it by the time you spent on the track.
More track time, or let your discharger have all the fun... It's up to you... 
