My take on home to 1st is that scouts tend to collect this information on those kids they think it may make a difference. Oftentimes you will see the scout wander over to the first base side and get his stopwatch ready when the kids comes up to bat. The 60 - especially with the split times being taken at PG - is a good measuring stick. If you are 7.0+, the scout probably isn't going to clock you home to 1st. If you are 6.7 but don't seem to move too well on the bases, they'll call you average. If you are 6.5, then they probably start getting interested in how quickly you can get down the line, especially if you are a left handed batter.
To defend the 60, I would not want to be the guy running a true home to 1st drill. You cannot simply have them run the same was as a 60, you need them with a bat in hand and see how quickly they get out of the box. I've heard pop times are difficult at times to control as the catchers start "cheating". I could easily see the same thing on home to first drills. Anyone ever watch the little guys make the fake swing and start running to 1st base while the LL coach is yelling at them to "go through...go through"?