Drag race only front wheel widths are traditionally 3.5"-4".

Tire diameter will affect your reaction times a bit. All else done equally, a shorter tire will provide slightly faster RT and a slightly slower ET. Taller tires provide slightly slower RT but slighter faster ET! Try to figure out what size will help in the direction you need. In bracket racing, RT's are more important that max ET.

It looks better to fill the wheelwells, front & rear, but very short tires don't always look good. 28"+ front tires may cause clearance issues with the front fenders at the lower front and/or insides.

Brand? I've always tried to use the same brand front & rear tires (Hoosier). Race front tires are lighter. But if your watching your nickels & dimes, any similar needed sized brand of race or street tires will work. But stay away from radial fronts. Depending on the car and set-up, radial fronts can cause handling issues.

For best results, rear wheel width should be around the same width as the tire tread. It usually allows you to run slightly higher air pressure while still maintaining a flatter footprint and extend tire life by reducing sidewall flex. (i.e: I run 10" wide wheels with Hoosier 9" radial rear slicks.) My wheel brand choice is Holeshot Wheels. Good combination of weight & strength with a wide variety of offsets & styles available.

Holeshot Wheels