Why do you persist in your assertions about the headlights?
YOU DON’T KNOW!!!
Then you ‘should know this’;
If you can not stop your car within the range of your headlights, YOU’RE DRIVING TOO FAST!
(Yes, even for a stationary object!)
I’m with you, Senator.
Per the article, there was considerable smoke created when the racers burned their tires just prior to taking off.
There could have been visibility problems. Witnesses might have seen the reduced glare of the headlights in the smoky haze and thought they were parking lights. Fog acts like that also.
The early reports are always to be taken with a grain of salt. The forensic investigation will show the position of the headlight switch, and witness testimony, when compared will give a better mosaic of how events actually unfolded. There may even be cell phone pictures, etc. of the seconds after the crash which will help to determine people placement,condtions of smoke, etc.
What was really odd was that the dead person in the car was originally reported to be a passenger. Turns out it was a spectator. I hate to contemplate the physics of that.