Looking at that top picture of your post Bob brings to mind a conversation I once had with an NHRA old timer.
As far as he was concerned, the fall of the roman empire started the day they got rid of the starting line flagman and introduced the Xmas tree. For him, half the show was watching the flagman, and the antics of the racers in trying to deke that guy out. For him, it's been downhill ever since. He wasn't joking. He was completely serious.
He described the starting line action as almost a dance between three peaple, with the starter quivering the flag, the racers blipping the throttles and stabbing the clutch and brakes in an attempt to deke each other and the starter out. The faster and louder the cars, the better the show. He said some racers were really good at it, and the Xmas tree took that advantage away.
AFAHWC, the Xmas tree "has no soul, no personality. They day they started using it, the racing became a lot more boring to watch." That was pretty much an exact quote.
I guess it's all a matter of perspective.