Joel Steele’s Coyote Powered S197 Breaks 6 Second Barrier

Joel Steele is a bad man behind the H-Pattern shifter! His Tick Performance built T56 transmission has been showing off on Facebook for the last year. While the twin turbo Coyote has pushed into the low to mid 7-second range, his recent changes have gained him some major notoriety. Steele decided what better way to make history than blast off a record-setting pass at FL2k21.

Not Without A Fight

Leading up to FL2K was a series of chassis problems and inconsistent run times plaguing the team. Steele managed to run a 7.20 — a good time, but far from the H-pattern record and his ultimate goal. You might think trimming down a few tenths to be as easy, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. After reengineering the slave cylinder and making final adjustment the car finally started working right for Steele.

Steele cranked off a 6.98-second pass during qualifying. Unfortunately round two did not work as planned. The red bulb lit without Steele’s car even moving. A ghost, the five-foot fire ball from his exhaust or a random towel near the beams, no one is certain what triggered it. One thing was for certain: Steele’s round two round action was over. Steele was granted an invite to make an exhibition run at the end of the night though.

Making History

While the qualifying run would have placed him into the books, his exhibition run at the end of the night would see an even faster time. Steele backed up his 6.98 with a 6.95 at 202 MPH — this is all while staying turned down to avoid hurting the motor before the World Cup Finals next month. This makes Steele’s the fastest stick shift Ford, fastest stick shift Coyote, and the first stick shift domestic into the sixes all at once!

As Import Versus Domestic World Cup approaches, we know we’re going to see some heavy hitting action from the handful of 6-second-capable H-pattern cars. Maybe a battle of the Joels? We will have to wait on those results. However, what we currently show is that Steele and his crew came to make history at FL2k21 and they did just that.

Steele’s Winning Combo Rundown

Steele’s S197 was built by Xiled Drag Cars and houses a 25.3 cage. Safety is handled by Impact gear. The heart of this beast is a TKM Performance built Gen 1 Coyote motor with ported and polished Gen 1 Coyote heads. Sitting on top of the motor is a Plazmaman intake manifold that is receiving a healthy dosage of boost via the twin 7684 turbos. All electronics, sensors, and fuel injection are handled by Holley. Renegade Race Fuels supplies all the methanol and oil the motor can desire.

The key focal point of this build is the transmission. Its hard to fathom rowing gears to a 6-second pass and the transmission staying together. The abuse continues to happen and the Tick Performance-built transmission and PPG gearsets stay strong. Steele utilizes a billet front plate, Advanced Clutches and a billet twin 8-inch clutch. A Fab 9 rearend transfers power to the RC Component wheels. A FFP Customs pedal setup makes sure his footwork stays top notch. MGW Shifters make sure those money shifts stay in place.

Photography and video by Josh Lambert, Stick Shift the World Media

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James Elkins

Born into a household of motorsport lovers, James learned that wrenching takes priority over broken skin and damaged nerves. Passions include fixing previous owners’ mistakes, writing, and driving.
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