Even though I see your point from a purely fair point of view, I wouldn't worry about what the top drivers are doing, and here is why. I, like you, am a relatively novice competitor who needs as much seat time as possible to get better. The national level drivers are so far ahead of us now that what they may do before a local event really doesn't matter since they would beat us anyway.

Case and point, although I have noticed that my raw times are creeping up on some of the top drivers in the area (which I admit does bring a big smile to my face ) I still know I have a ways to go and that any slight advantage they may have (i.e. help setting up the course) is far more outweighed by their experience. The people I compare myself to are my peers, who are also relatively novice competitors.