if you supercharg the dakota at 8-10#, raise the revlimiter from 5200 to 6000 rpm, get a 52mm throttle body, and headers the dakota should beat the "L". the bigger engine puts out more torque, and more torque in a lighter trucks wins races.

if money were no object, the dakota would kill the "L" with a 4" stroker crank, 4bbl M-1, cam, 2.02 R/T heads, 10-12# of boost, and the list goes on.

lets face it, the "L" was built with speed in mind. the dakota has the same engine all of the fullsize vans and trucks have with the exception of a exhaust.