I agree with your first statement that it's clearly human error but I disagree with the argument about burn outs. Static friction is an entirely different mecha

I agree with your first statement that it's clearly human error but I disagree with the argument about burn outs. Static friction is an entirely different mechanism than kinetic friction. The force needed to stop the car in your first scenario is kinetic friction. Burn outs work by static friction. In general, static friction is the higher of the two.