here is a good example of why a lift is good off road. a stock truck would never make it through this, it would only bang up the bottom body panels and the bumpers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzQtFFtWuhs
and here is another. you see how he high centered it? that wouldn't have happened with a bigger lift/tires.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMOYZsRD5Vc

off road racers don't need the clearance because they are racing. they want a low center of gravity for when they hit bumps and get a little air to keep them from flipping and to give them more control in high speed situations.
how many people do you know that put a big lift and tires on their trucks then race them verses using the trucks for going through mud and rock crawling/trail riding.

 

Now only if my truck was close to the first one. The kind of off road driving i'd be doing is only i the Pacific Northwest. Which one of the two companies do you guys prefer Skyjacker or Toughcountry?

 

I think i'm going with the skyjacker leveling kit. Do i need the torsion keys?

 

I know literally hundreds of people who race. There is no mud/rock scene out here.

 

well then I'm guessing your out west somewhere....cause here on the east coast I know no one who races off road with theirs....that was mentioned already that different geography = different purposes