Just wanted to add this because I thought it was relevant.
I drove my SS on Watkins Glen International raceway this past weekend. While the laps were paced, the pace drivers were pretty liberal with us. This is one thing that I noticed:
Entering some of the corners I was downshifting to second frequently in order to blast out of the corner with more force. I think in the 1LE I would have been able to leave the car in 3rd for most of the track, perhaps shifting to 4th on the longer straights.
As stated before, on the street it's tough to tell the differences in gearing, but on a road course where the 1LE is designed to shine, I think that being able to hold the car in 3rd for a great majority of the race track would be a major benefit.
Keep in mind this is coming from a total track noob, that was my first time out. I don't autox or anything of that nature. Gotta say though driving the car on a closed course is ADDICTING. I may have to start searching for autox events in upstate NY
Eric you've got to bring your 1LE next time. You would have had a blast.