Dodger101

Deflating the rear tire causes the tire to spread out, giving you more rubber contacting the cement for traction at launch. But this is only for going in a strait line. If you plan on turning at all, yes you need to keep your tire's hard.

RodeoFlyer

remove the front sway bar and air the tires down. leave your stuff in the trunk. 60lbs is worth a few hundreths, at the cost of weight over the axle. the sway bar will help more than anything.