Okay, here's the problem. There a lot of people and/or organizations who do NOT want to be involved with Racing. Even if you clarify that it's not "wheel to wheel" racing, if you call it "racing", the response is going to be "we can't let you do that here". Like I said, it has a lot to do with the lawyers involved.
It's hard enough to get some companies "risk management" departments to sign off on autocross. If you refer to it as "racing", they'll laugh you out the door.
It's sad, but it's true.
So, maybe I even agree with you guys (shhhhh!), autocross is a form of racing. But it is in our best interest to NOT CALL IT THAT.