TREMEC GT500 Street and All-Female True Street Highlights from the 2023 NMRA 25th Anniversary Ford Homecoming Drag Race
The 2023 NMRA 25th Anniversary Ford Homecoming was host to some great TREMEC-sponsored drag racing action. In addition, the always popular TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout, TREMEC also sponsored the All-Female True Street Showdown and 2020-up GT500 Street Shootout.
TREMEC All-Female True Street follows the same rules as NMRA True Street. Participants must drive street legal vehicles which undergo a 30-mile street cruise to certify street worthiness. Then three timed quarter-mile runs are made to build an average elapsed time (E/T) that determines overall winner along with winner for each E/T class (for example, 9-,10-, 11-, 12-, 13-,14- and 15-second classes).
The 2020-up GT500 class is an exclusive playground for 2020 and newer Ford Mustang Shelby GT500s, which come from the factory equipped with the TREMEC TR-9070 dual-clutch transmission (DCT). This transmission is capable of upshifting as quickly as 80 milliseconds. You can read the full rules here, but the most important one is the car must still have its TREMEC TR-9070 transmission and also run the factory transmission controller. Internal engine modifications/upgrades are allowed though. The fastest and most powerful GT500 in Mustang history, these cars are capable of 10-second E/Ts in stock form and 9s with basic mods. This class uses a 10-second index, and eliminations are run with a .500 sportsman tree, An NHRA pro ladder determines the pairing for eliminations.
The TREMEC GT500 Street Shootout is a 10.00 E/T index class of heads-up racing for 2020-up GT500s equipped with the TREMEC TR-9070 dual-clutch transmission (DCT). It’s amazing how quick these cars are just by adding a set of slicks! Dylan Royer in his 2020 GT500 navigated some tough competition to take home the class win at the NMRA 25th Anniversary Ford Homecoming event. In the first round he got caught snoozing at the line with a .407 reaction time while Josh Luck cut a .156 light in his 2021 GT500. Royer crossed the finish line first though, setting a round two matchup against Geoffe Maze. This time Maze was caught napping at the line (.484 reaction time) while Royer left with a .172 reaction time for a lead Maze couldn’t overcome even with a [email protected] to Dylan’s [email protected] pass. Royer would face George Tisdale and his 2020 GT500 in the final, but Tisdale red-lighted giving the overall win to Dylan Royer.GT500 Street Runner-Up George Tisdale’s path to the final started with a tight round one matchup with Ron Martin. Tisdale cut a .032 light for a great head start to Martin’s .383 reaction time. The .351 advantage was all Tisdale needed to get the win with a [email protected] to Martin’s [email protected] pass. The second round went easily, with Troy Frueger red-light giving Tisdale the easy win for the final round against Dylan Royer. Knowing he’d need to be quick, Tisdale left a little early with a .009 red-light that handed the class victory to Royer. Gabby Lujan won the first TREMEC All-Female True Street Showdown of the season in Orlando, Florida, and came ready to make it two in a row at the NMRA 25th Anniversary Ford Homecoming in Norwalk, Ohio. The red 1990 Mustang was capable of an 8-second three-run average, but Gabby had to wheel the car a bit on her first pass and clocked a 10.241 E/T. The Fox Body was back on track for her second run, firing off an 8.568 E/T that easily set low elapsed time for the entire field. Gabby’s final run lit the board with a 9.036, making for a 9.282 three-run average to take home the overall title for this TREMEC All-Female True Street Showdown.The overall runner-up for the TREMEC All-Female True Street Showdown at the NMRA 25th Anniversary Ford Homecoming was Danielle Post in her 2011 Mustang GT. Her first two runs were 10.386 and 10.645, which opened the door for another 10-second car to nab runner-up honors. For the third pass Danielle nailed it to secure the spot, running a 9.829 E/T for 10.286 overall three-run elapsed time average. Kelly Bartlett was the model of consistency behind the wheel of her 1983 Mercury Capri to win the 10-second E/T class in TREMEC All-Female True Street Showdown at the NMRA 25th Anniversary Ford Homecoming race. With runs of 10.523, 10.467 and 10.455 for a 10.481 average E/T, Kelly was in prime position for the class win and ended up less than two-tenths from taking overall runner-up for the event. The 11-Second winner for TREMEC All-Female True Street Showdown was Kimberly wood in her 2014 Mustang GT. Kimberly’s first pass of 9.957 had everyone watching, especially after Gabby Lujan posted a 10.241 first pass. It seemed the overall title might be up for grabs, but that was thwarted when her second pass posted a 10.551 E/T on the scoreboard. The 10-second class and overall runner-up win were thwarted when her third pass registered a 12.500 through the lights. But the three-run average worked out to be an 11.003, making her virtually unbeatable for the 11-second class award. Andrea Woolard drove in from West Virginia and was lights-out to win the 12-second class in the TREMEC All-Female True Street Showdown. Andrea’s runs of 12.076, 12.066 and 12.033 were the kind of consistency racers dream of, averaging out to a 12.058 elapsed time that was unbeatable by the rest of the 12-second competition. The 13-second class in TREMEC All-Female True Street Showdown was the toughest of all the classes, with the most cars capable of running a solid 13-second average elapsed time. Danielle McGraw bested everyone, though, with a 13.151 E/T average in her 1992 Mustang 5.0 coupe. The next toughest class in TREMEC All-Female True Street Showdown was the 14-second group. Heather Flannigan set a mark no one else could beat with a three-run E/T average of 14.012 that secured the victory in her 2010 Mustang GTJust like regular True Street, all entries must complete a 30-mile street cruise to demonstrate that they’re legit street vehicles. Elaine Moistner had her 2014 Mustang GT ready for a fun day of racing, firing off runs of 14.987, 14.979 and 15.045 that gave her a 15.004 average to secure the 15-second E/T class at the NMRA 25th Anniversary Ford Homecoming race.
