does the front upper bar help on drag or not?

I see a lot of cars in magazines without one. or rebar for that matter...

i'm confused

 

Nope. Ditch it or both.

 

so besides being dead weight, does it make launching worse?

 

a tie bar helps your strut towers from flexing outward during hard cornering. it does nothing for your launch in a drag race. it just adds a little bit of weight.

i dont think you would see any difference running with or without it