I think they must have. Winning gold at GABF is no joke. And you obviously didn't get the 22oz'er of Racer 5 I did. No doubt they've both matured since getting more shelf space.
Sounds like were into that gray area of personal taste. I like a lot of IPA's for a lot of different reasons and drink them all regularly. Actually, my favorite is my own homebrew, BGA, which blows 'em all into the hay bales. ;)
nb