"a new mark for piston-engined, wheel-driven LSR cars eighteen years later. Railton Special The Railton Special, later rebuilt as the Railton Mobil Special, is a one-off motor vehicle designed by Reid Railton and built for John Cobb's successful attempts at the land speed record in 1938. It is currently on display at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, England. The vehicle was powered by two supercharged Napier Lion VIID (WD) W-12 aircraft engines. These engines were the gift of Marion 'Joe' Carstairs, who had previously used them in her powerboat ""Estelle V"". Multiple engines was not a new technique, having already been"
"Speed Record at Bonneville on 15 September 1938 by achieving 350 miles per hour. He broke it twice more at the same site, on 23 August 1939 achieving 369 miles per hour, and without this being beaten, he raised the record to 394 miles per hour in 1947. During the World War 2 he served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force, and between 1943 and 1945 in the Air Transport Auxiliary, being demobilized with the rank of Group Captain. He made an (uncredited) appearance in the wartime propaganda film ""Target for Tonight"" (1941). Cobb was killed at the"
"Mickey Thompson Marion Lee ""Mickey"" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his ""Challenger 1"" to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered"
"the Bonneville Salt Flats, attempting to set world speed records. During his ten visits to the salt flats, he set three speed records, one of which still stands. His efforts, and success, are the basis of the motion picture ""The World's Fastest Indian"" (2005), starring Anthony Hopkins, and an earlier 1971 short documentary film ""Burt Munro: Offerings to the God of Speed"", both directed by Roger Donaldson. Munro was born in 1899 in Invercargill. His twin sister died at birth and Munro grew up on a farm in Edendale, east of Invercargill. Munro's interest in speed began at an early"
"Bill Rishel and two local businessmen tested the suitability of the salt for driving on by taking a Pierce-Arrow onto the surface of the flats. A railway line across the Bonneville Salt Flats was completed in 1910, marking the first permanent crossing. The first land speed record was set there in 1914 by Teddy Tetzlaff. Entertainment filmed at the salt flats include portions of ""Knight Rider"", ""Warlock"", ""Independence Day"" (1996) and , ""SLC Punk"", ""Cremaster 2"" from ""Cremaster Cycle"", ""The Brown Bunny"", ""The World's Fastest Indian"", ""Gerry"", ""The Tree of Life"", ""Top Gear"", """" and """". Furthermore, the Pontiac Bonneville"
"record and the men's record at a speed of . In the series finale episode of ""Mad Men"", Donald Draper drives a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS muscle car in the races at Bonneville Speedway. Bonneville Speedway Bonneville Speedway (also known as the Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track) is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats northeast of Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed records. The Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The salt flats were first used for"
"preferred location for land speed records, with 8 consecutive world records set between 1927 and 1935. After a historic race between Ransom Olds and Alexander Winton in 1903, the beach became a mecca for racing enthusiasts and 15 records were set on what became the Daytona Beach Road Course between 1905 and 1935. By the time the Bonneville Salt Flats became the premier location for pursuit of land speed records, Daytona Beach had become synonymous with fast cars in 1936. Drivers raced on a course, consisting of a stretch of beach as one straightaway, and a narrow blacktop beachfront highway,"
"Lee Bible Lee Bible (May 27, 1887 March 13, 1929) was an American garage operator and a racing-car driver. He was killed attempting to break the land-speed record on March 13, 1929, at Ormond Beach, Florida. He was born Conway Lee Bible on a farm near Midway, Tennessee. On March 11, British driver Major Henry O. D. Segrave had set the land-speed record of in his ""Golden Arrow"", beating the old record held by Ray Keech, who had set the record in the ""Triplex Special"". Jim White, owner of the ""Special"", wanted the title to come back to the United"
"racing track. He had a career as a successful businessman as the Managing Director of the fur brokers 'Anning, Chadwick and Kiver', the financial resources from which he used to fund a passion for large capacimotor high speed racing. He held the ultimate lap record at the Brooklands race track, driving the 24-litre Napier Railton at an average speed of achieved on 7 October 1935, having earlier overtaken the 1931 record set by Sir Henry ""Tim"" Birkin driving Bentley Blower No.1, and regaining it from his friend Oliver Bertram. Driving the piston-engined, wheel-driven Railton Special, he broke the World Land"
"Trophy events, and the 1934 Mille Miglia He fitted a diesel engine from an AEC bus into a car built on a Chrysler chassis and used it to set high-speed endurance records at Brooklands, attaining 100.75 mph in 1933 and 106 mph in 1936. In 1935, he was one of the first British racers to travel to the Bonneville salt flats of Utah, with his 24- and 48-hour record-setting car ""Speed of the Wind"". He is best known today for land speed records set in his car ""Thunderbolt"". Between 1937 and 1939 he set three new land speed records, wresting"
"record for 11 years on September 13, 1948 by Rollie Free who rode a Vincent HRD (Black Shadow or Black Lightning) to a speed of 150.313 mph at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. Petrali died on November 10, 1973 in Casa Grande, Arizona due to a heart attack while attending a economy run for Buik, In 1992 He was included into the Motorsports Hall of Fame and 14 years later he was included into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. Joe Petrali Joe Petrali (February 22, 1904 – November 10, 1973) was a motorcycle racer, Joe Petrali also was"
", despite shredding a tire in the process. Ultimately it was Breedlove, immortalized by the Beach Boys in the song ""Spirit of America"", who emerged victorious as he posted a speed of on 15 November 1965. In 1970, Gary Gabelich piloted the rocket-powered Blue Flame to a new world record at Bonneville with a speed of . In 1983, this record was eclipsed by Thrust2, which was powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon jet engine and driven by Richard Noble to a speed of . In 1997, the world land speed record was bested once more by ThrustSSC, which achieved a"
"Nolan White Nolan White (26 February 1931 – 20 October 2002) was one of the few people to pilot a wheel-driven piston engined vehicle in an official sanctioned run in excess of 400 MPH. He broke the 400 MPH barrier at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September 1990, achieving the mark with the average of the required two direction run completed within one hour. Nolan died on October 20, 2002 at the age of 71 in Salt Lake City after being injured in an accident at the speed flats when his parachute failed after clocking a one-mile run at 422"
"only to Darryl Greenamyer. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1999. As an air race pilot, Lyle is best known for flying the highly modified Grumman F8F ""Rare Bear"" which he restored in 1969 and raced until his retirement from racing after the 1997 Reno National Championship Air Races. Lyle Shelton Lyle Thomas Shelton (1934–2010) was an American aviator who set the world's absolute propeller-driven 3-kilometer speed record of 528.329 mph.He was born in Brownfield, Texas on June 15th, 1933. A former US Naval Aviator, he was an airline pilot for his professional career, flying for"
"MPH. Nolan White Nolan White (26 February 1931 – 20 October 2002) was one of the few people to pilot a wheel-driven piston engined vehicle in an official sanctioned run in excess of 400 MPH. He broke the 400 MPH barrier at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September 1990, achieving the mark with the average of the required two direction run completed within one hour. Nolan died on October 20, 2002 at the age of 71 in Salt Lake City after being injured in an accident at the speed flats when his parachute failed after clocking a one-mile run at"
"Hall of Fame in 1998. Rollie Free Roland ""Rollie"" Free (November 18, 1900 – October 11, 1984) was a motorcycle racer best known for breaking the American motorcycle land speed record in 1948 on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. The picture of Free, prone and wearing a bathing suit, has been described as the most famous picture in motorcycling. After an early career in motorcycle retail, Free became a regional racer of the 1920s and 30’s on Indian motorcycles. In 1923, Free tried out for his first national motorcycle race, the 100-Mile National Championships on the board track in Kansas"
"Bonneville Speedway Bonneville Speedway (also known as the Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track) is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats northeast of Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed records. The Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The salt flats were first used for motor sports in 1912, but did not become truly popular until the 1930s when Ab Jenkins and Sir Malcolm Campbell competed to set land speed records. A reduction of available racing surface and salt"
"official record reached this level. World land speed record attempts moved from Daytona to the more consistent surface at the Bonneville Salt Flats with Campbell's Blue Bird in 1935. Not wishing to lose the valuable visitor trade, Daytona Beach officials asked local racer Haugdahl to organize and promote an automobile race along the course. Haugdahl is credited for designing the track. The city posted at $5,000 purse. The ticket-takers arrived at the event to find thousands of fans already at the track. The sandy turns became virtually impassable, and the event was stopped after 75 of 78 laps. The city"
"Special"" crashed into the dunes and rolled, finally coming to a stop further. During this crash, Bible was thrown from the car, killing him instantly. The ""Triplex Special"" rolled into a newsreel cameraman, Charles R. Traub, who was killed instantly. Lee Bible Lee Bible (May 27, 1887 March 13, 1929) was an American garage operator and a racing-car driver. He was killed attempting to break the land-speed record on March 13, 1929, at Ormond Beach, Florida. He was born Conway Lee Bible on a farm near Midway, Tennessee. On March 11, British driver Major Henry O. D. Segrave had set"
"Rollie Free Roland ""Rollie"" Free (November 18, 1900 – October 11, 1984) was a motorcycle racer best known for breaking the American motorcycle land speed record in 1948 on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. The picture of Free, prone and wearing a bathing suit, has been described as the most famous picture in motorcycling. After an early career in motorcycle retail, Free became a regional racer of the 1920s and 30’s on Indian motorcycles. In 1923, Free tried out for his first national motorcycle race, the 100-Mile National Championships on the board track in Kansas City, but did not qualify."
"Rolland ""Rollie"" Free (18 November 1900 – 11 October 1984) was a motorcycle racer best known for breaking the US motorcycle land speed record in 1948 on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah on a Vincent Black Lightning. The picture of Free, prone and wearing a bathing suit, has been described as the most famous picture in motorcycling, and Russell Wright won another World Land Speed Record at Swannanoa with a Vincent HRD motorcycle in 1955 at . The 500 cc Meteor and Comet singles were introduced, along with a 500 cc racer, the Vincent Grey Flash. The Grey Flash racer"
"three days total booked at Bonneville, the team had to vacate for Craig Breedlove, who set the record at 400 miles per hour (644 km/h); leading to an intense debate within the FIA about what constituted a car, resulting in the unusual decision that Breedlove's three-wheeled jet vehicle was actually a motorcycle. In 1964, Wingfoot Express returned to Bonneville for a week, but the engine never regained the strength shown in their earliest runs, and struggled to pick up speed. Even when another engine was installed, success eluded them. Finally, Walt's brother and longtime competitor Art Arfons, a brilliant intuitive"
"Beach began to prevent cars from reaching their true top speeds. In September 1935, Campbell took Blue Bird to Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats, where it exceeded . Ab Jenkins, who in October 1935 had set speed records for one hour and for 24 hours in a factory-modified Duesenberg SJ on a circuit marked out in the Bonneville Salt Flats, realized that it was no longer possible for a modified production car to compete against aero-engined cars for long-distance speed records. Jenkins had his SJ special further modified, replacing the modified SJ engine with a Curtiss Conqueror engine. The Conqueror-engined special"
"using a dragster with a large shield as pacer, achieved on the Bonneville Salt Flats on 15 October 1995. The British absolute speed record is held by Neil Campbell who pedaling at a speed of on 25 April 2016 behind a modified VW Passat. He broke the previous record of set by Guy Martin in 2013 behind a modified racing truck. Denise Mueller-Korenek claimed a women's bicycle land speed record at at the Bonneville Salt Flats on 10 September 2016. Mueller was coached by former record holder John Howard. It is not clear which authority was supervising the record attempt."
"at an estimated speed of 140-150 mph. The car sailed in the air, breaking in half upon impact: Marriott was injured and did not make another attempt to break the record after he recovered. Marriott's mark for the steam land speed record, which had become the longest-standing such record, was finally broken more than 100 years later in August 2009 when Charles Burnett III of the British ""Inspiration"" team recorded an average speed of 139.843 mph (225.06 km/h) at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Fred Marriott Fred Marriott (31 December 1872, Needham, Massachusetts - 28 April 1956) was an"
"Ray Keech Charles Raymond Keech (born May 1, 1900 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania - June 15, 1929) was a board track and brick track racer in the 1920s. He is best remembered for winning the 1929 Indianapolis 500, and for setting a land speed record. Keech set the land speed record of 207.55 mph (334.02 km/h) on April 22, 1928. He set the record at the Daytona Beach Road Course in the 81-liter triple-engined internal combustion White Triplex 'Spirit of Elkdom'. His record was broken by Henry Segrave on March 11, 1929. In 1929 Keech was asked by Triplex owner J."
"in 2012 after eight years of service. Gary Gabelich Gary Gabelich (Croatian ""Gabelić""; August 29, 1940 – January 26, 1984) was an American motorsport driver who set the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Land Speed Record (LSR) with the rocket car Blue Flame on October 23, 1970, on a dry lake bed at Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah. Gary Gabelich was born 29 August 1940 and was raised in southern California and attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School. He grew up during the height of the Southern California race scene and became friends with many famous racers of the"
"rules describing a qualifying car as being ""driven through its wheels"", the only issue raised seriously at the time was over the number of wheels, hence the FIM acceptance. For a period there were thus ""two"" simultaneous land speed records, the 1947 ""Railton Mobil Special"" record remaining as the FIA four-wheel Class A record, which from July 1964 went to Campbell's ""Bluebird"". Although Bluebird also used a ""jet engine"", it was a turboshaft that drove the wheels. Both FIA & FIM records were broken in October 1964 by Tom Green and further extended by Art Arfons. Breedlove returned to Bonneville"
"1913, introducing a new 300 HP ""Jumbo"" Benz and set a new one mile dirt track record of 75.24 MPH at Brighton Beach in September. In 1914 the Moross Amusement Company engaged Californian Teddy Tetzlaff to campaign the 300 HP Benz, naming it ""Blitzen Benz 2."" Tetzlaff broke the world land speed record mark by running 142.8 MPH on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Ernest Moross Ernest ""Ernie"" Moross (1873 or 1874 – April 4, 1949) was an early-twentieth-century press agent and promoter specializing in American motorsports. He was a longtime associate of the first American auto racing superstar, Barney Oldfield."
"Tractor Puller. Arfons died on December 3, 2007, in Springfield Township, Ohio, at the age of 81. He was interred at Mt. Peace Cemetery. Art Arfons Arthur Eugene ""Art"" Arfons (February 3, 1926 – December 3, 2007) was the world land speed record holder three times from 1964 to 1965 with his ""Green Monster"" series of jet-powered cars, after a series of ""Green Monster"" piston-engine and jet-engined dragsters. He subsequently went on to field a succession of ""Green Monster"" turbine-engined pulling tractors, before returning to land speed record racing. He was announced as a 2008 inductee in the International Motorsports"
"146.16 mph (235.22 km/h) on Pendine Sands in his Sunbeam 350HP car ""Blue Bird"". Four other record-breaking runs were made on Pendine Sands between 1924 and 1927; two more by Campbell, and two by Welshman J. G. Parry-Thomas in his car ""Babs"". Firstly the barrier was broken by Campbell. In April 1926, Parry-Thomas added approximately 20mph to break the land speed record at 171.02 mph (273.6 km/h). Campbell raised the record to 174.22 mph (280.38 km/h) in February 1927 with his second ""Blue Bird"". On 3 March 1927 Parry-Thomas attempted to beat Campbell's record. On his final run while travelling"
"Lent to him by Rolls-Royce, this engine was either ""R25"" or ""R31"". By February 1933 the car, named ""Blue Bird"" had been rebuilt to accommodate the larger engine and was running at Daytona. In late 1933 Campbell bought engine ""R37"" from Rolls-Royce; and had also been lent ""R17"" and ""R19"" by Lord Wakefield, and ""R39"" by Rolls-Royce. He then lent ""R17"" to George Eyston. Once he had achieved the record on 3 September 1935 at the Bonneville Speedway, Campbell retired from further land speed endeavours. Lord Wakefield arranged for a replica of the Rolls-Royce R to be exhibited at the"
"the World of Speed, (similar to Speed Week) organized by the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association. The USFRA also meet on the first Wednesday of each month throughout the summer. In October, the Southern California Timing Association puts on World Finals, a scaled-down version of Speed Week. Each year, there are usually a few private meets that are not publicized scattered among the larger public meets. Numerous land speed records in various vehicle categories and classes have been set on the Bonneville speed way. In 1960, Mickey Thompson became the first American to break the barrier, hitting and surpassing John"