[Year's_End]

Weight, contact patch size, weight distribution, amount of wheels driven, tire compound, shift speed, and gear ratios are largely in charge of quick 1/4 mile times, or at least their importance is heightened immensely as the power levels (insert DBZ reference) escalate to absurd proportions.

Once you're putting out ludicrous power, AWD cars don't have to worry about bogging down, and RWD cars have to worry about converting the chaos into something useful, rather than turning it into a bunch of poofy, useless smoke. A car that can divvy up 600 horsepower between four tires with a (my assumption of the standard for high-po vehicles) 70/30 torque split will have a much easier time hooking up than a car sending 600hp to smother its two rear wheels into submission. The AWD vehicle in question splits that power and sends a reasonable 420hp to the rears and 180hp to the front. The only disadvantage is the powertrain inefficiency which can lead to friction-based losses which might affect runs at higher speeds, and of course the added weight from the extra differentials and whatnot isn't exactly a boon.