Will launching in second gear hurt the trans?

There is a bracket racer from VA by the name of Tim Griffith who has won tons of races. He has a small block Vega with a 3.08 gear and leaves in high gear. He definetely knows what he is doing based on his results. How hard do you think it is on his Poweglide or converter racing it this way? I've never seen him have a problem, just win races, track championships and World titles. As I stated earlier, I have put over 1000 runs on my $650 TCI converter and probally 50 of those runs was leaving in 2nd gear and have had no problems. It is actually easier on the tires, u-joints, axles, ring and pinion etc. than leaving in low gear. The only problem that I ever had with my 904 is when the track is no good and you spin and hook on the starting line and break the sprag in the case. Leaving in 2nd gear solves that problem as it will not spin, so it actually saves the transmission instead of ruining it. But I have found that it is more consistent leaving in low gear than in 2nd, so if I spin during the time runs. I just disconnect ny 4 barrell and the problem is solved as it kills my 60' time from 1.70 to 1.90 when deep staging.