Rocket Racing League

Was reading this latest announcement:

http://www.rocketracingleague.com


So when they say "rocket racing," I'm assuming that they mean a vehicle
with onboard oxidizer and fuel propellant, as opposed to air-breathing
jet aircraft.
I guess that stipulation would be useful, as far as focusing impetus on
propulsion systems useful for spaceflight.

But they seem to be pitching the Long-EZ as the stock model for this
competition. Isn't that a bit confining in regards to harnessing
competition to stimulate useful design innovations? I realize that
there aren't a whole lot of designs on hand to choose from when
starting a brand new competition like this, but will they allow people
to branch out from this design, or will the specifications be very
tight?

Other than providing a festive sporting event, is the goal of this
competition to stimulate newer and better types of rocket aircraft, or
rather purely to hone the skills of competing pilots using a single
common rocket platform?

Even in NASCAR, IndyCar, FormulaOne, they allow for a certain amount of
customization of the vehicle, so that the competing drivers can obtain
an edge on the vehicle side, rather than relying purely on driving
skills alone.

Also, I notice that the rocket-powered LongEZ has that alcohol fueltank
slung low on the underside of the craft. I assume that's for safety in
keeping the tank away from the fuselage, but isn't that thing hung too
low near the ground? If you were to have a hard landing at the end of
the race, causing the landing gear to buckle, wouldn't that tank
possibly end up scraping the ground, possibly even igniting the fuel?

I dunno, just my opinion, but either they need to lengthen that landing
gear, or else bring the tank a little closer to the fuselage.

Comments?