I believe mythbusters busted the tailgate up down scenario..
however, my other truck did so much better with the tailgate down, I could actually get it upto 90 much faster (3 second difference) with it down vs up..
but it wasn't a traditional cab on frame with bed setup.
when I took it to the drag strip to dick around with it there,
I deleted the tonneau, tailgate, bumper, inner bed panels, spare tire and spare holder..
shedded quite a bit of weight..
with a whopping 60whp I did good at the track doing bracket.
F bomb warning..
in the in car video, we were all making fun of the fast n the furious..
Looks like that MF stayed up..
the camera was wedged in the pass seat headrest.