A) It is not necessary to manually add a track. Just add something to an empty Timeline, and a track will be added automatically.
B) Shotcut allows clip- and playlist-only projects. An empty timeline is not only a clue about this to the program code but also visually to the user–important, because each project type has subtle behavioral differences.
C) Today, you can make a default project template that includes a Video Mode and tracks. Start Shotcut, set the video mode, add some empty tracks, and save as AppDataDir\__untitled__.mlt