I've driven a vertical gate. It's good for drag racing because it basically gets rid of the "H" pattern and you can easily speed shift between 2nd and 3rd quickly. It will strengthen your index and middle finger tendons by repeatedly pulling the lever for 1st and 2nd, and downshifting to those same gears from higher gears. Jackie, if you don't have a strong right wrist, you will after using this shifter for a while.
For those who don't know what a Hurst V-gate shifter is; the handle has 2 positions, pushed forward and pulled back. The top is a T- handle. It has a 2 finger handle in front of it that you pull up, while shifting, for 1st or 2nd. If you didn't pull up on the finger lever and just pushed forward, you would hit 3rd, pulling back, 4th. It also has a small reverse lockout lever sticking out on the left side, requiring 2 hands to find reverse.
This shifter is great for speed shifting in drag racing, where your right foot NEVER lets off the gas while shifting. For regular street racing and everyday driving, if your shifter mechanism is clean a lubed, a regular competition plus shifter is an all around better shifter.
Rob