273ci thoughts?

i know a lifelong racer who has built and raced all the mopar examples...and he wrote a book with his results! It's not hi horsepower or a big torque number ...it's balance in the total package.
He notes in his book that the high horsepower engines he raced never E.T' d well because making hp at hi rpm usually sacrifices lo end torque.
That's why early 340 A bodies did so well with only 275hp and 340 ft. lbs.

More transmission gears can get away with a narrower powerband thats more peaky, if you had a variable trans that keep an engine at peak hp, then peak would be all that matters.
You divide your powerband into multiple ranges eg. 3000-4000 4000-5000 5000-6000 and figure how much time is spent in each during a run and basically work on them from longest to shortest.