TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout 2023 at the NMRA Ford Homecoming
The second TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout of 2023 rolled into Summit Motorsports Park as part of the NMRA Ford Homecoming and 25th Anniversary Celebration with high expectations for some great drag racing excitement. The weather was nearly perfect all weekend, and the True Street field had 44 manual transmission cars out of 104 total entries. The TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout field was tight, with one 9-second average elapsed time (E/T) car followed by five 10-second cars and two 11-second average Mustangs. There was the usual amount of drag racing poker being played during the True Street time trials, with driver’s running different strategies to get an average E/T that would give them the best chance at winning with the Stick Shift Shootout’s staggered-start format.
Each driver who qualified for the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout received a TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout jacket emblazoned with their name and a shootout plaque. The winner of the shootout would receive a McLeod Racing NXT clutch setup, and the runner-up would take home a $500 McLeod Racing product voucher. The shootout is open to H-pattern manual transmission cars competing in the True Street category, with the eight quickest cars making the shootout along with two alternates in case someone can’t make the call for eliminations on Sunday.
The eight quickest manual transmission racers from True Street at the event were:
Brian Krakowski – 9.682 average E/T
Jeff Smith – 10.001 average E/T
Dwayne Hickman – 10.073 average E/T
Dan Watts – 10.148 average E/T
Jeffery McCool – 10.534 average E/T
Chris Rusch – 10.947 average E/T
John Keepers – 11.240 average E/T
Scott Triolo – 11.037 average E/T
For the first and second round pairings for the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout, each racer draws a chip which randomly decides the pairing. Elimination rounds are a heads-up format with a staggered start based on the driver’s average E/T from True Street competition. Racers being racers, drivers were playing things close to the vest during True Street runs, setting themselves up for the best average E/T in True Street that wouldn’t leave them at a disadvantage with the staggered start for eliminations. The racing was close, with a couple of parts breakages during runs providing extra twists to what was already great competition. There are always uncertainties and variables with drag racing, and just because one car is faster than the other doesn’t guarantee a win.
The field of eight for this TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout series was one of the tightest yet. One 9-second average E/T Mustang followed by five 10-second cars and two 11-second cars mean the staggered starts would be close except for two pairs. This meant the drivers would have to be sharp on their reaction times without red-lighting, especially if they were the last to get the green light. For rounds one and two, there was a blind chip draw to determine the pairings so no racer would know who they would face off against until the day of eliminations. Due to the risk of rain Sunday afternoon, the racing schedule was accelerated a bit and the usual time between rounds was shortened to make sure the entire racing program would be finished before the precipitation came. Once the chips were drawn and pairings set, all racers headed to the lanes, given time to make sure their safety equipment was secured, then pulled into the burnout box.In round one, lowest qualifier Brian Krakowski (9.682 average E/T) faced off against John Keepers (11.240 average E/T). Even though Keepers had a sizeable head start at the line, his .618 second reaction time to Krakowski’s .469 gave up some of the head start. Krakowski was able to make up the distance and cross the line first with a [email protected] to Keepers [email protected] and move on to round two.The second pairing was a face-off of New Edge Cobra Mustangs between Dan Watts (on left, 10.148 avg. E/T) and 2023 NMRA Orlando TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout winner Jeff Smith (on right, 10.001 avg. E/T). The staggered start was miniscule, and Smith’s quicker reaction time of .313 seconds to Watts .388 eliminated the difference. It was neck and neck until about the eighth-mile when the crank pulley sheered off Watts’ engine and threw the blower belt onto the track. His car instantly nosed over and Smith screamed through the lights with a 9.611 E/T at 154.55 mph to get the win. The third pairing of round one had Jeffrey McCool (pictured) and his Coyote-powered 1981 Mustang facing off against Dwayne Hickman’s Coyote-powered 2011 Mustang GT. McCool got the head start off the line with a quick .112 reaction time while Hickman got caught napping when his light turned green, cutting a .850 reaction time. Despite running [email protected] he couldn’t make up the distance against McCool’s [email protected] that earned McCool the win.The final pairing of round one had Chris Rusch (left, 10.947 avg. E/T) against Scott Triolo (right, 11.307 avg. E/T) that gave Triolo the head start off the line. Triolo cut a .334 second light which gave some of it back to Rusch (.252 reaction time) and it was a race to the finish line. Triolo broke the beams first running a [email protected] with Rusch crossing the line at [email protected].Round two had the top two TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout qualifiers facing off, with Smith’s dial-in of 10.001 giving him an edge over Krakowski’s 9.682. Smith’s orange 2004 Cobra jumped out in front with a .277 light, with Krakowski was ready for the green, cutting a .252 reaction time. But the black Mustang had issues off the line and broke something in the rear end, giving Jeff Smith and uncontested run into the final.It was a battle of the four-eye Foxes for the other round two of eliminations, with Jeff McCool in his 1981 Mustang (right) battling Scott Triolo in his 1985 Mustang (left). Triolo’s 11.307 dial-in provided an advantage over McCool’s 10.534. Triolo had a .232 reaction time off the line, but McCool launched on a .130 light to chase him down. The race tightened up past half-track, but McCool’s [email protected] wasn’t enough to cross the line first against Triolo’s [email protected] run. The TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout final between Scott Triolo and Jeff Smith gave everyone something to think about. Smith’s car was running about half a second ahead of his dial-in (10.001) and a second faster than Triolo’s best run of the day (10.434). So even with the starting line advantage for Triolo (11.307 dial-in to Smith’s 10.001) there were questions if Triolo could hold the starting line advantage down the track or would Smith be able to catch up and pass him. Smith’s best run of the day (9.463 E/T) was plenty quick, but several wondered if he had a tenth or two in his back pocket for such a scenario. Triolo cut a .199 reaction time to start, but when Smith got the green, he launched on a .198 reaction time to try and chase Triolo down.Jeff Smith was running a blistering pace in his 2004 Cobra to try and catch Scott Triolo. The best run ever for Triolo in his 1985 was a 10.30, so he was feeling the pressure to set a personal best to have the best odds at beating Smith. As the quarter-mile lights grew closer, the gap tightened to a razor-thin margin. Even though Smith ran a super fast [email protected], it was Triolo who reached the finish line first ([email protected]), lighting the win signal and taking home the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout title at NMRA Norwalk. For the win, Triolo took home the trophy and a new McLeod Racing NXT clutch setup, while Jeff Smith earned the runner-up McLeod Racing $500 product voucher. The final 2023 TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout will take place at the NMRA World Finals at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, KY, September 28- October 01.
