Dana or 8 3/4?!? Need opinions

I ran an 8 3/4 in my cuda for years of weekend racing, behind an automatic with a 489 case(bigger Pinion) there pretty indestructible. I was running 11.20's hitting the slicks hard. Now a 4 spd is different, that is the only time I had problems, and it was on a smaller pinion gear than the 489. Rumblefish makes a great point, that the ease of changing gears is nice. The Dana is great for the shock and awe visual, like a six-pack carb set-up, but there both gonna slow you down.