Which one was easier? The bike.
What is your argument for that opinion?
The bikes have been at it much longer with more backing.
When I was running a hot rod daily driver street bike in late 70's, I could hose 95% of everything wearing 4 tires and a license plate at the strip, or on the big end. 10 second ET's with a plate were trailer items, as were 175mph machines, not something you drove to the track and work each day.
Things have changed. Want to run a stock production street motorcycle today against a stock production street car today? I don't think so. Fuel economy cars go over 200mph stock (2006 Z06 Corvette, 27 mpg, 202mph in 2 miles smog legal), which is better than most fast OEM motorcycles.
For a first effort Garlits kicked arse. Breaking a NHRA record by 1/2 second isn't small potatoes. Records are normally measured in the 0.0x range.
If I remember right, the last racer to try and set the EV car record, caught fire on the return road at HRP, and barely escaped, his car burned to the ground, they could not stop it. A nitro fire can hit 2000°F and can be extinguished, an EV fire can go way over 100,000°F spraying copper plasma (think arc flash) and You Cannot Put It Out.
Big Daddy still has balls the size of grapefruit. Remember he lost 1/2 of one of his feet when a flywheel exploded, and he invented the rear engine rail. And HE STILL RACES!
Sidebar - Love you Jim K, but you don't have a lot of experience with racing late model technology, drag racing, electricity, digital technology etc. You think racing technology peaked in in 1934?