That Fastrax tool looks awesome...do you know of any place which sells them to the USA?
I've been putting holes in my tires for the last few sets and it gives at least two benefits that I've seen...first it lets water out, if the tires get wet, water gets in there and if left in there will either cause them to be way out of balance or break down the foam, getting it out is a good thing. Second it lets dirt out...same thing as the water.
Now that Pro-Line has pre-mounts, I've been looking for a tool like this to make putting the holes in easier. As pointed out above, non-uniform holes can have a negative effect (causing premature failure by tearing or foam ejection...)