First, I'd like to thank all of you who took the time to reply. I appreciate that. Thank you!
As far as money goes, I bought it right, and I haven't put a lot of money into it that counts toward the $500. So, I'm not going to worry about whether they are going to check my oil or not. If that makes me a cheater, well, I've been called worse. The rules are pretty quiet on the question of lubrication. It may be a gray area and I'm happy to keep it that way. I don't want a rules clarification.
I'm seeing some recommendations here for straight weights. Why is that? If it makes any difference, it will likely be fairly hot out.
One other thing. Something odd happened with this car. Before I changed the pan gasket, the car had a very serious blow-by problem. After replacing the gasket I put a jug of MaxLife in it that I had reserved for another car and ran it for a about 30 minutes total. I swear it now has very, very little blow-by. Could the synthetic content have unstuck some rings already and made them work the way they should? Could the detergent effect really be that dramatic? I know, it sounds like an infomercial. Anyway...
Thanks!