Pro Stock. The good old days

I was at maple Grove with the wife last summer. i forget what event it was as we live close enough that i can go on a whim any weekend I want but, we go there and these Pro Stock style cars were running 1/8 mile and running fast. i said to the wife :why the hell are they running 1/8 mile?" I had heard that someone was killed so they pulled the finish line back. It cant be fun running them cars like that. if you have that power you want to go 300 MPH. they were crossing 1/8 at like 185.