Thanks useful information: 
As noted, it really depends on what use you will put it to.
Bright light and a stabilised camera will reduce the value of IS.
Change the scenario to lower light or add in some exercise on your behalf, and suddenly IS is very valuable. Exercise makes adrenaline, which increases any background muscle tremor and IS really helps there. You can also shoot ridiculously low shutter speeds hand-help with the new 5 stop IS lenses.
It's important to remember that IS freezes the camera,not the subject, so the extra stops won't help with a moving subject in low light.
As to size and weight, well that is all relative. When the 70-200 first arrived in this home, we thought it was massive. Now we have bigger lenses, it seems no bigger or more cumbersome than any basic kit lens. We think of it as the "little lens" we'll chuck on for convenience. You will see people all over hand-holding them all day without problems.
Just read your other post that went up while I was typing.
Given what you have said, I think you will find the IS beneficial. If you are going to shoot sprint cars though, get on the inside of the track. You don't really want a faceful of mud and gravel smashing into your nice new lens. You get much better shots from the inside of a track too.
If you have scrawny arms, and are hand-holding at weddings for example, IS will really help. Even 2 stops turns 1/30 into 1/125. That's a big difference.
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