Fastest Stick Shift Car? Monster Manual Mustang Sets Drag Racing Record (MotorTrend)
How fast can you shift gears? Joel Steele ran a 6.81-second quarter in his stock-block Coyote.
Joel Steele made a name for himself after his 2012 Ford Mustang became the first domestic, H-pattern manual transmission car to break into the 6s at FL2K earlier this year. That achievement made his car the fastest/quickest stock-block Coyote. Now he just upped the ante, becoming the overall fastest/quickest H-pattern car in the country, beating out Joel Granna's Supra in a heads-up race at the World Cup Finals — Import vs. Domestic.
Right off the trailer, Steele and team fought traction issues, but they discovered it was because their new bullhorn exhaust exits were leaking condensation onto the track ahead of the tires. They fixed that and made minor adjustments to the clutch before their last round of qualifying. "I was coming up to the staging lanes and saw Joel Grannas [previous overall stick-shift record holder] in the left lane so I jumped in the right. I thought I may not have another opportunity," said Steele. "I couldn't have asked for a better scenario; it was like a grudge race we set up three months prior."
Steele made a 6.81 at 208 mph pass, beating out Grannas, then backed it up with a 6.81 at 210 mph in the first round of eliminations.
(photo credit: MotorTrend)
