Which is Really Faster — Nitro or Electric?

In response to Are You Ready to Go Nitro, Clyde writes,

I have been hearing a lot of people saying that nitro is faster then electric and was just wondering how this rumor got started? Every electric I have owned has walked circles around my nitro. I had a E-Maxx and a T-Maxx, the e-maxx was much faster and bashed a lot better. My E-Revo will outrun any nitro 4wd truggy/buggy that I have seen, of course besides a nitro 4-tec or the like. Brushless technology is producing tons more power then nitro, at a better rpm and pulls into higher speed.

In my FAQ on Scale Speed, I wrote:

Although the RC "hall of fame" speed records are held by electric RCs (usually highly modified for increased speed), nitro RCs are fastest overall.

From an article at Beginning RC: "We're going right ahead and starting with the most controversial subject. It is true, ready-to-run (RTR) nitro-powered cars & trucks are almost always faster out of the box than their electric counterparts, and frequently by a significant amount." They also go on to say that often "a nitro vehicle can actually feel more fast than a faster electric." However, once you start upgrading electric RCs they become the ones setting RC speed records.

Although there is no agreement, in general a ready-to-run nitro is going to be faster than a straight-out-of-the-box electric. But your mileage (and speed) may vary. So, what has been your experience? Which is faster -- electric or nitro? What kind of engine vs. what kind of motor? What kind of upgrades? Sound off in the comments, below.