Nick Cole-Mann First to Break 6-Second Barrier with LS Stick-Shift Vehicle
Stick-shift vehicles are making waves lately, especially getting into the 7 and 6-second range in the last few years.
The race to be the first to 6-second land with a LS engine and a manual transmission started to heat up in August of 2021.
Nick Cole-Mann, driving a `91 Chevrolet S-10 pick-up with a Dart block-based LS, Trick Flow cylinder heads, Borg Warner 76 millimeter Bullseye turbochargers, and a G-Force built transmission, broke the LS stick shift record with a 7.28 at 196.93 mph at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Just a few months later at the World Cup Finals at Maryland International Raceway, Nick lowered the record to a 7.04 at 202 mph.
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After sitting out most of 2022 with the Corvette known as Leroy, Garrett Mitchell (a.k.a. Cleetus McFarland) returned to the track in early November and started chipping away at his times.
The first LS engine and manual transmission to clock a 7-second pass, Cleetus was looking to do the deed again for the 6-second range, and by the second week of January, a 7.06 at 192 mph pass was completed.
Nick took immediate action, knowing the race to the sixes had heated up. “When I see him go the 7.06, I packed the trailer up and left to beat him to it (first to run a 6-second pass),” said Nick. “On our way down here (from Wisconsin to Florida), Cleetus went the 7.01.”
Orlando Speed World Dragway would have Nick rolling the S-10 out for a test session on Saturday January 21st, and by 9 p.m. that evening, the coveted time slip was in hand.
Nick and the S-10 covered the quarter-mile at 6.95 seconds at 195 mph, becoming the first LS Stick Shift to run a 6-second pass.
As good as that pass is, some may notice the drop in speed over his previous 202 mph blast at World Cup. “There’s plenty left in the truck,” said Nick. “I just got to keep picking at it.”
- Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Nick Cole-Mann.