Did I permanently hurt my car?

[mlambrecht82]

your car should be fine, just don't do it again. Now about launching, all the traction control does is retard the timing if you spin your tires. So always leave the trac control off when racing. Now, as far as getting off the line you would probably be best to launch at 1300 rpms, DON'T DUMP THE CLUTCH, your going to want to feather the clutch out and keep the car in the power band until you get it out all the way. (carful not to turn too many rpms and burn up the clutch, you don't want to ride the clutch a lot, just enough to get you going) You'll want your tires to chirp a little that way you know that your pushing your traction to the limit. If they break loose just feather the gas a little until they hook up again, don't just throw it in second.
The easiest way to get into 3rd from 2nd is to just push the shifter straight forward (don't apply pressure left or right) the springs in the shifter should pull it to line up with 3rd. You will definately want to put a steeda tri-ax shifter in there. It is only $180 and will save you from doing any other damage to your drivetrain. Your car will feel like a whole new car when you put that thing in there. Hope this helps and be careful where you race.