You gotta set records to the 1/8 before you can set them in the 1/4. A car that's ahead at the 1/8 should always win the 1/4 as well. If not, it's down on power. This is especially true in a class where everyone runs the same turbo.
Just from racing 1/8 all my life. The 1/8 puts more emphasis on driver and chassis rather than overall power output.
Take Don Cruz for example. When he went 9.0, his 1/8 was 5.87 or something like that. He's making power and putting it to the ground. This proves he's fastest to the 1/8 and 1/4 with a 1/4 set-up. If anything, the lower powered cars can have a better shot at winning if their chassis and driving skills are better than the high $$$/high hp cars. So, if a car works like it should and the driver is on top of his game, he's got nothing to worry about.