Jeremy Howell Stick Shifts His Way to a 7.06 at 205 MPH in Testing!
At the first Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes in 2023, the Stick Shift class featured several single-digit capable cars. But most kept an eye on Jeremy Howell, who’s unique ‘FlatFox’ ’91 Mustang combines classic Fox looks with the unusual sound of a flat-plane crank 5.2-liter GT350 engine from the Ford Voodoo engine platform.
The combination results in 7-second 190+ MPH passes, and Jeremy is continuing to push the platform.
Jeremy had clocked some 7.3-second runs at the World Cup Finals at Maryland International Raceway in 2022, and scored a win at the ModNationals in the Pro Stick Shift class just a week later, so it stood to reason he’d be a tough competitor in 2023.
“We ran the 7.30s at World Cup with a 91-millimeter turbo,” said Jeremy. “It showed us a lot of potential, and we knew the car had more on the table.”
For 2023, Jeremy stepped up to 98-millimeter unit, and gave it the first dose of hard work at Sick Summer. “We tried to do Sick Summer on a real clutch,” Jeremy admitted. “I had hopes and dreams of being able to run consistent seven-second runs on a diaphragm clutch versus a slipper clutch that a lot of people run now.”
After day two and a destroyed clutch at Byron Dragway, Jeremy made a change, and the elapsed times started to drop, ending with a 7.70 at 192 mph on day five and the class win.
Since then, Jeremy has continued to participate in drag-and-drive events, including Hot Rod Drag Week where he produced a 7.85 average, the first 7-second average from a H-pattern stick shift car.
The 2024 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive was next on the agenda, but in a shocking turn of events, Jeremy was out by day two.
“I don’t have a concrete answer for it,” said Jeremy. “We took the car down there with the exact same set-up and tune that I had in it at Drag Week. We didn’t test, because I thought it was in a good spot. The first pass it bogged really bad, so we brought it back to the pits and went over everything, but couldn’t find anything.
Most people will tell you when a stick car bogs, first thing to do is dive into the clutch and loosen it up. We did that, and by the time we were back in the lanes, there was only 30 minutes of run time left.”
The second pass it bogged again. “So I loosen it (the clutch) up more, throw more power at it, and the third pass it bogged again,” Jeremy said. A resulting 9.64 at 184 mph was the best of the three time slips to turn in, and after Jeremy took time to reflect on the day’s results, he came to a harsh conclusion.
“I’ve done enough of these style events, battle of attrition, changing clutches and such, and I reflected on the first day,” he said. “My goals were to win the Stick Shift class, and post a 7-second average. Both those goals were seriously in jeopardy after the first day. I wanted to know why it wasn’t performing, and I didn’t have a plan.”
So he made the trip home to Indiana to give the car a complete inspection. “I don’t really like problems I can’t find an answer for.”
Fast forward a couple months, and Jeremy decided to roll to an early April testing session at US 131 Motorsports Park. “The first pass it powered into a wheelie,” said Jeremy. “Ran it out to a new best MPH; 200 mph club!”
Knowing the ‘FlatFox’ had more in the tank, he returned to US 131 this week for a chance for some better times. “It’s still the same set up we’ve been running since Sick Summer 2023,” he said. “We’re just learning the power management.”
The first pass resulted in some clutch slippage and a 7.09 at 200 mph pass. “We tighten up the clutch a bit and try again,” said Jeremy. That resulted in a 1.17 60 foot, a 4.65 at 162 mph eighth-mile, and a 7.06 at 205 mph on the full quarter-mile pull.
“The car was slower to the 60 and 330 foot marks than it was a few weeks ago,” Jeremy said. “Some tweaking and a little more boost, and let’s try again.”
On the third, and what would be final pass of the day, the ‘FlatFox’ was cruising, with better 330 foot and eighth-mile numbers. But not long after that, things took a turn for the worse. “I knew something was wrong,” Jeremy said. “When I shifted fourth gear and felt it lay over, that’s why I lifted.”
Then fire appeared. “I could see through the cowl hood, the flames on the right side. But US 131’s Samuel Peterson was right on top of it.” The culprit of the fire looks to be a valve cover gasket that was pushed out, getting oil on the header and igniting the fire.
Thankfully, the damage wasn’t too bad, but it meant an end to Jeremy’s day, and showed what the combination could do on 38 pounds of boost, the most they’ve ever run. “I think it showed the maximum of what we can accomplish on this turbo,” said Jeremy. “There might be a little left, but we hung it out pretty good.”
“We just cleaned up the mess after the run before loading it up for the trip home. I’m thinking it got a piston, but we won’t know for sure until I have a chance to dig into it further. We have some plans for the engine this year. I’m wanting to go dry sump, as well as work on a new turbo kit.”
Jeremy is not currently signed up for another drag-and-drive in 2024 currently, and will see what the damage is before making his next move. “Lifting before the 1000 foot mark knocked about 6 mph off compared to the previous run, and running the numbers, it probably would’ve run a 7.000, just to make me run it again.” Jeremy laughed.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Jeremy Howell, Hard Target Images and Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com