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The first TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout of 2023 had drama, firsts, and plenty of great drag racing action!

Participants with a manual-transmission car competing in NMRA’s most popular racing class, True Street, are eligible to compete in the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout. If you’re not familiar with the True Street class, it’s open to any street-legal, Ford-powered and Ford-bodied vehicle that is street legal. From bone-stock cars and trucks to street-legal street/strip vehicles, regardless of driving experience anyone can enter and become a participant instead of just spectating at an NMRA event.

Mike Copeland and his company, Arrington Performance, made headlines in 2021 with the 1948 Chevrolet Truck they built showcasing a hydrogen fuel conversion system being developed for existing internal combustion (ICE) gasoline-fueled engines. Now they’ve taken the concept to the next level with the recently completed 1964 Ford Falcon built with a modern Ford Gen 3 Coyote V8 that runs on hydrogen and is backed by a TREMEC TKX 5-speed transmission.

The TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout is back for the 2023 NMRA racing season, pitting the eight quickest and best manual-transmission racers against each other for ¼-mile gear jamming supremacy.

“To say the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout has been a success is a huge understatement,” explains Mike Kidd, Aftermarket Business Unit Manager for TREMEC “Having a manual transmission adds so much excitement to driving, both on the road and at the race track. Having an event where racers can take their TREMEC-equipped vehicles to the limit in a safe environment is a lot of fun while showing everyone the performance that TREMEC 5- and 6-speeds are capable of, whether it’s a factory OE TREMEC or one of our aftermarket transmissions.”

The TREMEC TKX 5-speed has opened up a whole new world of driving enjoyment for classic and late-model cars and trucks. But many people wonder what is really involved in converting an automatic-equipped car to a TREMEC t-speed. We recently followed along with Knights Automotive in Oveido, Florida, as they made that conversion on a Fox Body Mustang.

The SEMA Show is where automotive manufacturers and aftermarket companies show off the latest parts and accessories. It is also where some of the most impressively designed and built vehicles are displayed, showing off those parts as well as craftsmanship in the builds. Here is a sample of the numerous custom-built vehicles we saw at the 2022 SEMA Show that were equipped with TREMEC 5- and 6-speed manual transmissions!

While most of the focus on electric vehicles (EVs) has centered on new-car production, some companies in the automotive aftermarket have been working on electric conversions for classic cars and trucks. At the 2022 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Electric GT and TREMEC will be showcasing how new developments in EV technology can extend the life of vintage vehicles indefinitely, regardless of gasoline or diesel availability. Specifically, a 1963 Corvette and 19XX Land Rover Defender 90 will be on display in the TREMEC indoor and outdoor display booths (20057 and 81280), while Electric GT (booth 23683) will have an electric-converted 1984 Jeep Scrambler along a working eGT-413 V8 conversion system used in all three vehicles in its booth. And all with TREMEC manual transmissions!

Whether it’s at the track or on various social media channels, Skyler Hardy is at the forefront of street-legal stick shift drag racing. While it’s not quite underground. there’s really is a unification of drag racers who live to dump the clutch and bang gears. There are Facebook pages like Stick Shift Nation and Fastest True Stick Shift Drag Cars, and the posts are usually educational and entertaining.

The Whipple Superchargers NMRA World Finals + Holley Intergalactic Ford fest has grown into the ultimate Ford lovers extravaganza, with a combination of drag racing, autocross, speed-stop competition, a drift exhibition, off-road, massive car show, swap meet and so much more. Participants and fans annually make the pilgrimage to Bowling Green, Kentucky, and it doesn’t really matter if you’re a season pro or a novice with your first Ford.