Round two of the 2024 TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout series heads to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, as part of the NMRA 25th Anniversary Ford Homecoming event June 6-9. At the 2023 race, we saw one of the closest finishes ever for the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout, as Scott Triolo held off Jeff Smith for the win. And then for the first shootout of 2024 at Gainesville Raceway we saw the overall fastest field ever for a TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout.
What does this next event have in store for us?
If you’re unfamiliar with the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout, it is made up of the eight quickest (plus two alternates) H-pattern shifted manual transmission cars from NMRA True Street. Qualifiers are announced Saturday night during the True Street racer appreciation party. Eliminations are held on Sunday, with first round pairings determined by random chip draw. Format is staggered-start based on True Street elapsed time (E/T) average, using a .400 pro tree and no breakout.
The winner of the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout will get a McLeod Racing NXT clutch kit (a $1,500 value) while the runner-up gets a $500 McLeod Racing product voucher. Sweetening the purse at this event is an additional $1,000 for the winner if the car is equipped with a McLeod Racing clutch and another $1,000 if it has a TREMEC transmission.
New for 2024 and for the first time ever, TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout racers will be competing for the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout championship! Recognized as a NMRA class champion with NMRA championship ring, the winner will be whichever racer attends all three TREMEC Stick Shift Shootouts with the quickest overall qualifying average E/T. If no racer makes all three events, the championship will go to the racer with the quickest average E/T that raced in two shootouts.
With all this to race for, it’s sure to be action packed with the usual surprises and twists of fate that the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout has become known for.
Besides the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout, there will also be the TREMEC All-Female True Street and TREMEC GT500 Shootout Street. TREMEC All-Female True Street is run with the same rules as regular True Street, with the all-female field vying to be the quickest car in each E/T class with an overall winner (quickest three-run E/T average) and a runner-up. For 2020-up GT500 Street, the class is open to all 2020-2022 GT500s that still run their factory TREMEC DCT-9070 dual-clutch transmission.
The TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout takes the eight quickest H-pattern shifted manual transmission cars from True Street (plus two alternates). On elimination Sunday the eight racers face off in staggered-start format based on their True Street elapsed time (E/T) averages.
Does one ring rule them all? For the 2024 TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout series it does! For the first time there will be a 2024 NMRA TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout champion, complete with an official NMRA championship ring and recognition at the year end NMRA awards banquet.
Also at the 2024 NMRA 25th Anniversary Ford Homecoming will be the second round of TREMEC All-Female True Street competition and the TREMEC 2020-up GT500 Shootout Street class for 2024.
All TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout participants come from the NMRA’s True Street class. As part of True Street, all entries must complete a 30-mile road cruise to confirm they are street capable. Upon return to the track, cars are lined up in the staging lanes and given a 30-minute cooldown before the three timed runs begin.
Pairings for the first round of TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout eliminations are determined by random chip draw. This adds an extra dynamic to the shootout. In addition to the McLeod Racing NXT price for the winner (a $1,500 value) there is also up to $2,000 in bonus money up for grabs if the winner of the shootout is running a TREMEC transmission ($1,000 bonus) and a McLeod Racing clutch ($1,000).
The TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout uses a staggered-start format based on each racer’s True Street E/T average, with the slower car getting the green light first. This gives every racer a legitimate chance to win. Just because one car gets a head start doesn’t mean it’s assured victory. Reaction times are just as important, with a slow reaction time potentially costing a racer the head start advantage or putting the quicker car further in the hole and more ground to make up in less time.