Are you not listening? There is a huge difference between going fast in a track car and a real street car. The manual trans car will always have more potential, but as you have found it is harder to get to the ground.
JMO,
paulie
Uhh, Paulie, perhaps you should read Joe's initial question...."if traction was the same for both". So to answer your question, no, I'm not listening to your opinion, I'm looking at facts.
I'm not trying to be biased, just looking at the facts, nothing else. Indexes are the best comparative to look at, and I don't think you can find one instance where an automatic is quicker than a manual. And I don't think you'll find an instance where a manual draws more power than an automatic. More available power means more power to the wheels. Getting it to hook is another matter; one that class Eliminator racers generally don't have a problem with.
I agree that autos have an advantage over manuals in some ways, as Jay noted, but in the end, manual indexes are usually quicker, and never slower. And once you get out of Eliminator classes, air shifting and clutchless manuals negates any advantage that an auto has in shifting.
If it were strictly a 'more gears' thing, then why aren't there 5-10 speed automatics dominating the racing scene? They've been around for some time now.