^ if the driver sucked then yea the auto would win...

sorry to burst that idea but experience speaking ... automatics do not begin to make sense until you hit at least high 11s in the quarter ... before that the manual will always win cause automatics in general are built with too low a stall speed for streetability and smooth slow shifting due to low line pressures for comfort ...

we had very quick talon, fwd, 16g with a automatic ... and what you say is true, when we raced, the stick cars always fell back plenty when they shifted as we kept pulling on them ... but even at that 300 hp power level, given similar cars with a stick we would lose because the gearing was just not there ... given another 200 hp and a high performance high rpm stall speed torque converter and the proper valve body upgrades to increase shift speed, i am sure similarly powered cars with stick would be losing left and right...

automatics are for economy and comfort...
sticks are for performance and economy...