So..... Saying fixed set-up races are fairer is wrong, but saying they make the racing closer is right? I just want to be clear on the rule-set we're working on here.
Yes. "Closer" and "fairer" is not the same in my book. "Fair" is a judgement, it's often subjective and open to discussions, while "close" is an objective difference in lap times/race times. Sometimes both can be achieved at the same time, sometimes chasing one hurts the other, sometimes they aren't related. Say, if you slap a championship leaders with a ballast out of nowhere, that'd result in a closer racing, but that would also be unfair. Unless it was in the rules from the beginning, in that case it would be fair. Regarding fixed setup races, they are basically neither fairer nor unfairer than open setup ones, they are first of all a different set of rules.