A good lithium ion battery supposedly has a built-in battery management system that will prevent the conditions that cause the battery to catch on fire. Of course that's no guarantee that there will never be a problem. But that's why it's a good idea for us to keep track of what brand of batteries have the fire. I have been using anti-gravity batteries with no problem and they claim to have a superior battery management system, such that you can use the cars alternator to charge it for street driving. I have done just that on drag week.
The more digging into the subject, the less I have confidence in the original type of battery I was considering. Even though I know someone who has used the same model I was looking at successfully for the last couple of years in the same car, the manufacturer specifically says to use only with a charging system of below what I know his and my cars put out. I don't know if he's playing with fire (literally), but I won't.
The lithium ion batteries that look to have built-in management systems aren't in the $500 range, either. The comparable AntiGravity model is $950 for a 30 lb weight savings, so the cost-per-pound just got doubled by looking at a more reliable option. Hmmm... not at this time.
