First time at track. Advice?

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I just read all the way through and I'm confused. A 318, 2. something reared car in the 13s is slow compared to a pro built, aluminum headed, 416,with a pro built trans, in a stripped out car . But THAT car, in the 10's, is fast & shouldn't be compared to cars going 8's because they are built differently? Or am I missing something?