For the longest time I ran VP 100 unleaded and it worked great. Plus it gives a little safety margin, especially if you're doing desert or grandprix races. Not untill the compression was bumped up to a little over 15:1 did it really become necessary to run the crazy stuff when allowed.
Most of my pro level racing was in 99-01. I knew it wasn't going to be a career so college got in the way of practicing 6 days a week
It was definitely a fun experience and I'm still friends with quite a few current pros. It flat amazes me how fast some of those kids are.