My experience with race car crews (including the guys that build the
engines) is that they do a LOT of things based on folk lore and "that's just
the way it's done". Don't try looking for a lot of logic from racers, they
are more into superstition than science.
That said, racing presents an entirely different environment for the oil
than recreational or regular automotive. They aren't likely to get 3000
miles on an engine, so they aren't likely to care what the long term
durability of the oil is. What they do care about is how the oil reacts in
high RPM situations. A "racing" oil is formulated to reduce foaming, which
can be a critical issue on a high performance engine. You don't want to run
that in your car or boat, however, unless you intend to change your oil on a
weekly basis.
Rod
If you are going off on that tangent that there are differences in
oils formulated for different purposes, you are going to horribly
upset Jax.... he'll be calling you stupid in no time...