Whats the deal with super-wide full tread tires?

[BR3W CITY]

This is a random musing from my observation of trends in hot rodding. I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way...but I can't understand the need for suuuper-wide wheels, just to run suuuper-wide full tread tires?

If its "for the look", I'm totally cool with that, I just need someone to confirm thats WHY.

The reason I'm asking this;
I used to see open-wheel hot rods and early "pro-street" cars in the 80's running 12-18" rear wheels, with fully-treaded tires (meaning not slicks or drag radials).

Back then, there weren't as many sizes and sources for performance tires, and the rubber technology wasn't very developed. You could either run Bias-ply drag slicks (expensive, un streetable), or get something like a take-off dirt track tire. They were cheaper, and very available in wide sizes.

But as our hobby evolved, so did wheel and tire technology. You could start to get big traction from sub 10.5" tires (as evidence by the 10.5" small tire limit popular in racing). You started to see DOT street and drag radials, making more streetable, longer lasting tires that still had traction as a priority.

The weird thing is, M&H and Coker and others still make these ultra-wide full tread tires. They are big, heavy, and often more expensive than drag radials or slicks of the same size or smaller. Whats the reason? If you can get as much or more traction out of a cheaper less cumbersome tire, why wouldn't you? OR to the same effect, if you NEED that much traction, why not run one of the drag radial options on that same wheel and have killer hook?

So please tell me, is it for the look, or is there actually another reason?
/rant