Here for your comments..

Just off the top of my head, you need at least a 4:10 gear with that size of tire.
The plan is to be crossing the finish line in top gear at about 5,000 to 5500 R.P.M. if the engine is stock or fairly stock.
I'll bet it's a dog off the line.
And i would start out in first and manually shift it at 5,500 R.P.M., that would be a good start.
However, if you are bracket racing and want consistency, leave it in drive and leave the line at the same R.P.M. every time using the same burnout with the engine at the same temperature and let the transmission shift itself.
You should win a lot of races with consistency.
Who cares what E.T. the car runs, consistency wins races if that's what you are after...........