I have never heard that trick with the drag radials and the narrowing the contact patch. Makes sense in a way but drag radials are still mostly slicks. Of course we live up a dirt road that would destroy a set of drag radials or slicks well before I got home so always change tires at the track.
I get the space issue, but I bring my slicks to the track and switch them out for the track, which is no different than Drag Week in that regard in terms of switching tires. I do not change front tires though, which admittedly is a big difference with one less pair of tires to deal with. Of course, I am not bringing a week's worth of spare parts and tools either, which from what I can tell is the real challenge.