Here are two citations that HCL (acid) actually slows down the rate at which food leaves the stomach, not speeds it up. Perhaps the rumor that HCL speeds up "digestion" is actually that HCL helps break down foods, but not that HCL makes that food leave the stomach any faster:
Says "As expected, the gastric emptying of the pH 7 meal was significantly faster than that of the acid and the oleate meals." (In other words, the PH 7 meal which is neutral NOT acidic left the stomach faster than the acidic meal did)