[blykins]

With perfectly tuned EFI and variable cam timing, you can get away with a lot more on the street.

However, for the old school pushrod V8, there are plenty of ways of getting a "happy medium" powerband for street and racing. I like the revvy engines myself, but you have to put a cap on that somewhere if you want something that's not a pain in the butt on the street.

For a "peppy street" engine, I like the hp peak to be somewhere between 6000-6500. This still allows a nice torque curve and doesn't require a camshaft that is uber-fussy down low.