Ford 272 C.I. runs low 11's. Why do Mopar guys need 408's?

Maybe not so much what the big cube guys are doin wrong, but more like what @GTX JOHN is doin right!
Yep. 99% of the guys here that race or build engines don't have to run under restrictive rules, nor do they have to be the fastest in their class.
John has been racing in stock and superstock for (what, John?) 40 years, in classes where if you aren't fast, you don't win. The science of building a competitive stocker engine far excedes the usual street/strip effort.