Phenolic Spacer Question

[john]

I was wondering how an intake manifold spacer helps you make more power. I could only think of two ways:

-One, it would absorb heat???
This could help as it absorbs some of the heat going into the engine but I also
see it sucking in regualar engine bay heat.

-Two, it creates a longer path for hot air to travel and provide a better chance for it to cool off before entering the CC.
This sounds logical but why wouldn't we just extend the IC piping to take care
of this???

Please teatch me. Thanks, John.