Narrowing my own 8.75. Questions.

If you had a spool in the rear, I would agree with the statement about changing lanes but not with a sure grip or open differential. I've snapped axles-that weren't welded on by the way-while drag racing running slicks on a Duster with a sure grip and it just couldn't transfer enough torque to the unbroken axle to make the car turn. The engine reved and that's about it. I was able to drive it home from the track with one good axle by taking it nice and easy on the sure grip.
That would be true with the '70 and up Auburn spring loaded cone type not so Sure?-Grip (cheap) that even when new only transfers 25-40 lb. ft. of torque to the tire with traction. The sought after Dana Powr-Lok Mopar Sure-Grip used through '69 when properly clutched for drag racing transfers at least 200 lb.ft. to the tire with traction. At about a hundred miles an hour (the 2/3 or 3/4 shift) that is enough diagonal thrust to significantly upset the stance of the car at a time when the front end is high from acceleration and has big air flow under the car, thus down force on the front tires is very low making steering response weak. This sudden upset is unexpected by the driver who senses the instantaneous drift and quickly steers into it to keep the car straight and then reactively gets out of the gas. Getting off the gas reverses all the previous forces because now the tire with a good axle acts as a brake on one side. Now all of the steering inputs the driver has applied to correct the full throttle drift are suddenly no where near what he needs now and the back of the car wags out. He is then either into the wall or across the other lane. The entire event takes less than 2 seconds. Narrow low friction front drag tires allow it to happen even quicker. 4 speed cars with great traction are the usual victims, automatics not very often. Those of us who watch a lot of drag racing have seen it many times, most without knowing what they are seeing. After a great launch a car looks to have a perfect run in progress when at a gear change the car suddenly goes sideways walls up or rolls over or both. Watching the sad event in slo-mo we can see the suspension didn't break, the tires are all inflated and there isn't any oil on the track. It looks to us like the driver intentionally turned into the wall or other lane. Sometimes a good driver -or a driver that has been there before- knows to ease out of the gas, and after a lot of white knuckle gymnastics saves the car. The broken axle is discovered back at the garage at a later date. The audience never gets to know why.
Steve