There could of been one way on winning it cheap(er), Rocket Ronnie wanted 40k for his, and that run a 9.8 as a full weight car. Spend a little on lightweight panels, strip it out, could easily loose 100kg+, that might of done it (well, it did it 3 times). Don't think its for sale any longer though.
100kg will make little odds. Ronnie's car was mega fast 10 years ago, and still very very fast today.
But this years winner will be pulling 200+ in the 1km and running mid-low 8's in the 1/4"
Ronnie's car will be no match for that.
The "street tyre" rule only really affects the 2wd runners. 4wd cars it will make little difference
And as they allow drag radials, certainly in a straight line these are effectively slicks. Just the surface is no match for Santa Pod. But again, this does only really affect 2wd runners, on average to the tune of 1sec compared to the same car at Santa Pod over the 1/4