Take a look at the World’s Fastest Stick-Shift Cars Battle in Wisconsin as Snot Rocket Makes Wild H-Pattern Debut!
The Wisconsin Outlaw Stick Shift Challenge once again proved that manual-transmission drag racing is alive, brutally fast, and more unpredictable than ever.
Great Lakes Dragaway in Wisconsin welcomed some of the fastest stick-shift drag cars in the world, with six-second machines battling for qualifying position and elimination-round survival. The weekend featured everything fans could ask for: 200-plus-mph passes, missed shifts, red lights, mechanical failures, an accident, record-level performances, and one incredibly promising debut from Brett LaSala and Snot Rocket.
But when the racing was finished, Shawn Madden and Jango were standing on top after another remarkable performance.
Nick Coleman Sets the Early Pace
The level of competition became obvious almost immediately.
Nick Coleman arrived with one of the most impressive H-pattern combinations in the field. Already credited in the event coverage as the second-quickest H-pattern stick-shift racer in the world with a 6.49-second personal best, Coleman wasted little time establishing himself as one of the cars to beat.
His opening 6.79 at 204 mph was exactly the type of clean pass needed during early qualifying.
With track conditions expected to improve after sunset, however, nobody could afford to become comfortable.
The field also included Devin Schultz and the legendary Red Demon, Patrick Lewis in Betty White, Shawn Madden in Jango, Chad from The Shop Inc., and numerous high-powered import and domestic combinations.
Jango Goes 6.89 at 214 MPH
Shawn Madden immediately showed that Jango had serious horsepower.
The car ripped off a 6.89-second pass at 214 mph, placing itself firmly among the quickest machines at the event.
That combination of ET and enormous trap speed made Jango particularly dangerous. While other racers were fighting to simply put together a clean pass, Madden’s program continued demonstrating that it had both the power and consistency required to win rounds.
And Jango would only get quicker as the weekend progressed.
Brett LaSala Brings Snot Rocket Into Stick-Shift Racing
One of the most anticipated stories of the weekend wasn’t about an established stick-shift contender.
It was about a newcomer.
Brett LaSala brought Snot Rocket to its first stick-shift event, beginning an entirely new chapter for one of the best-known high-performance Ford builds in drag racing.
Instead of continuing with the car’s previous transmission configuration, LaSala decided to jump into H-pattern racing.
The engine combination remained familiar: a built Coyote-based powerplant. The major transformation was behind the engine, where Snot Rocket now featured a clutch setup paired with a Grannis Racing Atlas T-56 transmission.
It represented a significant new challenge.
Making huge horsepower is one thing. Applying that horsepower while manually controlling the car through a six-second run is something entirely different.
And Brett was learning quickly.
Snot Rocket Runs a Six With the Parachutes Out
Snot Rocket’s first major statement came during qualifying.
The car launched hard and looked capable of producing an impressive number, but the parachutes unexpectedly deployed extremely early in the run.
Normally, that would completely destroy a pass.
Snot Rocket still went approximately 6.94 seconds.
Even more remarkably, Brett wasn’t under power for the entire quarter-mile.
It was his first six-second performance with the new stick-shift combination, and it immediately demonstrated the potential hiding in the setup.
LaSala later explained that the parachute problem was related to changes made to the parachute configuration. Smaller chutes had been installed, but the existing bag and cable arrangement created an issue that needed correcting.
The important part was the performance.
A new transmission combination, limited testing, an early parachute deployment and an early lift still resulted in a six-second run.
Snot Rocket clearly had much more available.
Patrick Lewis Takes No. 1 With Betty White
As qualifying continued, the battle at the front became increasingly competitive.
Jango improved to 6.87 at 214 mph, but Patrick Lewis had bigger plans.
Before his run, Lewis indicated that he was looking for something in the 6.70s.
Then he delivered.
Betty White blasted down the track with an approximately 6.79-second pass at 217 mph, moving Lewis into the No. 1 qualifying position.
Coleman remained right there with him, producing another consistent 6.81-second run after his earlier 6.79.
Even more impressive was what Coleman had gone through behind the scenes.
After discovering problems with two lifters, he reportedly tore deeply into the engine overnight, replaced the lifters and addressed the camshaft before returning to competition.
The truck then went right back to running around 209 mph.
Snot Rocket’s Eliminations Debut Ends at the Starting Line
Unfortunately, Brett LaSala’s first stick-shift elimination round didn’t last very long.
Snot Rocket lined up against an all-wheel-drive Honda for Brett’s first true head-to-head elimination pass with the manual transmission.
But before the race could properly develop, the car pushed through the beams and triggered the red light.
Just like that, Snot Rocket was eliminated.
It was a frustrating ending considering how much potential the car had shown, but it also illustrated one of the defining characteristics of high-level stick-shift racing.
Everything has to work.
Horsepower alone isn’t enough.
Clutch management, staging, shifting, reaction time, track conditions and driver execution all have to come together during the same pass.
Jango Drops a 6.74 in Eliminations
While Snot Rocket’s competitive weekend ended early, Jango continued getting quicker.
Madden delivered a strong 6.74 at 210 mph during eliminations.
That wasn’t merely a survival pass.
Jango was becoming one of the fastest cars at the event at exactly the right time.
Meanwhile, Devin Schultz continued demonstrating remarkable consistency with Red Demon, repeatedly producing runs around the low-seven-second range.
Schultz revealed that one of the significant improvements had come from changing the suspension geometry, specifically the bar angle in the independent rear suspension. The objective was to generate additional anti-squat and keep the rear of the car planted.
The results spoke for themselves.
Snot Rocket Gets Another Chance — And Runs 6.90 at Only 164 MPH
Although Brett was already eliminated, event officials gave him another opportunity.
Since LaSala had traveled from Florida and desperately needed seat time with the new transmission combination, he was allowed to make a solo pass.
Snot Rocket responded.
The car charged through the early portion of the track before Brett lifted around the 1,000-foot area.
The scoreboard still showed approximately:
6.90 seconds at only 164 mph.
That trap speed tells the story.
A car running 6.90 at just 164 mph after lifting early clearly has substantially more performance available if it can remain under power through the entire quarter-mile.
The short-track acceleration looked particularly impressive.
For a car still at the beginning of its H-pattern development, the performance was a major warning to the rest of the stick-shift field.
Jango Unleashes a 6.61 at 213 MPH
Then came one of the biggest runs of the entire event.
The semifinal paired Nick Coleman against Shawn Madden.
Coleman had been remarkably consistent throughout the weekend, but Madden needed something special to advance.
He got it.
Jango blasted to an incredible:
6.61 seconds at 213 mph.
Coleman answered with a respectable 6.83, but it wasn’t enough.
Jango was headed to the final.
Waiting there would be Patrick Lewis and Betty White.
Again.
Jango vs. Betty White — Again
One of the most remarkable stories of the weekend was the continued success of the Madden program.
Jango and Betty White had already found themselves meeting in finals at previous major stick-shift events.
Now they were doing it again.
For the third consecutive event, the two cars were positioned for another final-round showdown.
That level of consistency is extremely difficult in any form of drag racing, but particularly in stick-shift competition where missed gears, clutch problems, breakage and driver errors can instantly end a weekend.
The Wisconsin final provided another chapter.
Shawn Madden and Jango Win the Wisconsin Outlaw Stick Shift Challenge
Patrick Lewis lined up in Betty White while Shawn Madden staged Jango in the opposite lane.
Both cars attacked the track, but Patrick encountered trouble during the run.
Jango kept moving.
Madden crossed the finish line with approximately a 7.19 at 184 mph, securing the victory.
Madden explained afterward that both cars experienced tire shake in a similar area of the track. Jango’s traction-control system caught the problem and allowed the car to continue.
Once Madden realized Betty White was no longer alongside him, he shut the car down early.
It didn’t need another 6.60.
The win light was already his.
Stick-Shift Drag Racing Continues to Get Faster
The Wisconsin Outlaw Stick Shift Challenge demonstrated exactly why this category has developed such a passionate following.
These aren’t slow cars running manual transmissions simply for nostalgia.
They are legitimate six-second, 200-plus-mph drag machines.
Coleman ran consistently in the 6.80 range. Patrick Lewis qualified at the front with Betty White. Devin Schultz showed remarkable consistency with Red Demon. Jango eventually unleashed a 6.61 at 213 mph.
And Brett LaSala?
Snot Rocket may have been eliminated early, but its debut could ultimately become one of the most important stories coming out of the event.
Running 6.94 with parachute problems was impressive.
Running 6.90 at only 164 mph while lifting early was even more intriguing.
Once Brett gains additional seat time and the team gets the clutch, transmission, staging procedure and complete quarter-mile combination working together, Snot Rocket could become a serious threat in the H-pattern world.
This was only the beginning.
The next major opportunity for the stick-shift machines was set to come at FL2K, and after what happened in Wisconsin, there was plenty of reason to pay attention.
