This does seem to be an enduring question! I've also seen it discussed in depth and kept an eye on the debate for many years. A regular contributor to this board frequently used to post that the Stock racers never used them because they found they robbed power in testing. I decided to go with a deep baffled pan and a crank scraper and no tray based on the balance of what I'd heard over the years. For a big block use the tray. For a small block, no. YMMV