Hi David.
I think that if you look at the power curves for most 351 based (I am speaking of units that have a cam like the COMP 282HR) engines, you will see that they really do not start to run right until about 2800-3000 rpm.
Of course you can drive them down in the 2000 rpm range, but they are pretty dead. Therefore, please look at the info below to see the speeds in gears at 3000 rpm for both the 3.73 and 3.53. (I know, it should be 3.55.)
Now let us look at typical cruising speeds in SoCal.
Not much difference. is there?
But, at Willow Springs at 6500 we find the below.
Still a bit of a toss up as to what gear to run at Willow. the 3.73 will be better on a cold day and the 3.55 better on a high grip day.
Therefore, the racers conundrum. What to do, what to do?
The very best thing is to have a 3.27, a 3.53, and a 3.73 center section in your garage and on your trailer when you are at Willow.
Hell, it only takes about 30 minutes to change out the center section on the JBL.
But this is excess for most folks.
If you will send me your email address, I will send the program above to you by email if you would like, (It is only 225K) and you can ponder the ratios on your own.
PS. I like the 3:73. But, then again, a 3.55 is good to.