Actually, I've always found it to be of a greater benefit to go a little wider (and slightly heavier) tire on a high horsepower car that experiences traction problems.
If your main problem is hooking up off the line in 1st or 2nd gear, then you want to address that problem first. Until that issue is resolved, you aren't going to set any 1/4 mile records anyway.
A wider section width tire will additional weight (1-3 lbs), but that's a good thing in this case. You want to slow your inital wheel speed down, which will improve your launches. (and your chances of hooking up)
But alas there is
no free lunch, so you will pay a small penalty for adding the additional tire weight. But it is important to note that this small penalty (.1 to .2 on average) will be confined to the first 60' of your run. After that, any performance will mimic a slightly smaller tire.
The greatest loss in performance with a wheel or tire occurs at the moment it starts to spin. Once it's spinning, the losses due to additional weight will be minuscule due to the momentum of the wheel. (less torque input is required)
I do agree that there is the law of diminishing returns though, so you have to find a happy medium. (balance between weight and performance)