You are right about the tech being a joke. They look at the roll bar and discuss it forever with us, and do not even look at the rest of the car. First time I was teched, asked the inspector if he wanted to see the battery to see if it was tied down. He said he already had see it. Only problem was that the battery is in the trunk and I had not opened it yet.
I was told if the car is clean and looks like it is well taken care of, they assume that it will pass.
The other problem is that there is a shortage of strips here. Only Bandimere. Friday night you get there at 3:30 and get 3 runs by 10:00. Spend 6 hours there to get 3 runs. Spend $30 for those 3 runs. No wonder kids street race.