It shouldn't matter how it is received, really. Change is tough for everyone.
Promoters and officials should always put the safety of the racers above everything else. You'll never convince me that putting new racers in the same field as P/1/2's is prioritizing safety. Talk about a hard sell.
Good point about field sizes, cdr, at least for USAC races. I don't think they apply to his WSBA races, though.