Old people NEED ro drive fast. Their time is short.

Goodnight, funnyman.

Approves

//Hey, Ridley, ya got any Beeman's?

My Masserati does one eighty five
I lost my license, now I don't drive

800 mph on the ground, that's pretty much insane, consider what kind of forces are at work there.

this dude has big ones for sure.

An 800 mph coffin is a pretty neat way to go, I guess.

At 75 my dad was happy to make it to the bathroom before it was too late.

They give pretty short shrift to one of the other records that Breedlove holds....

When Breedlove arrived, he quickly worked up to a one-way run of 513 m.p.h. On the return run his braking parachutes ripped away, and he couldn't stop in time with the wheel brakes. The Spirit of America ran off the course, jumped an embankment and finally came to a stop in a brine lake. Breedlove was lucky to escape without drowning.


During that run, he set the world record for the longest skid marks.

The second longest skid marks?

sprag: [upload.wikimedia.org image 250x318]

Approves

//Hey, Ridley, ya got any Beeman's?

yeah, I think he has a stick....

/salute

Tyranicle: An 800 mph coffin is a pretty neat way to go, I guess.

Heh, was thinking the same thing.

I dunno, this seems almost like a non-event to me. I read the article and it sounded like Breedlove was a sharp, scrappy, creative guy who liked to go real fast. Cobbling a drag racer out of an old WWII fuel tank and supercharged Oldsmobile engine sounded awesome. Then, like most any other racing competition, it quickly escalated into a multimillion dollar pissing match. At that point, the driver is almost a moot point, a chunk of meat that has to stomp on a pedal and release a clutch.

Besides, these speed records have all been broken by jets long ago. So it's on the ground, big deal. Couldn't these millions of dollars and manhours of engineering wizardry go to better use elsewhere? I heard somewhere that we're running out of fuel and all these snazzy vehicles will be nothing but museum exhibits in the not-so-far future. Go fix that problem.

SilverStag: I got all the way up to 80 on the salt flats once...

[farm3.staticflickr.com image 640x427]

I got up to 140mph on a ½-mile oval once. I couldn't make the turn....


/once
//Stuck throttle
///BIG fence

Good luck, crazy man.

How does a family end up with a name like Breedlove, anyway? I mean, Smiths are probably descended from blacksmiths, Taylors were tailors, my own name is taken from a Latin word meaning soldier... What did the Breedloves do for a living?

One of my heros as a kid. I got to see the Spirit of America on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago during school field trip. Hope the time clock doesn't run out on Craig.
The record belongs here in the USA.
Good luck Sir!

Will he try to drive through a mountain?

malaktaus: Breedlove

At 75 I expect his daredevil antics to be, y'know. Risking his heart exploding from the inside out, winkwinknudgenudge. Doubly so with a name like that.

Brian Wilson might have to add a new verse or two.

Yeah, one of the years, I'm going to go out to Speed Week and watch the fun. It's really a shame to have something like that so close to where live and not experience it for myself.

America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, bad-ass speed. - Eleanor Roosevelt, 1936.

malaktaus: How does a family end up with a name like Breedlove, anyway? I mean, Smiths are probably descended from blacksmiths, Taylors were tailors, my own name is taken from a Latin word meaning soldier... What did the Breedloves do for a living?

Polygamists?

malaktaus: How does a family end up with a name like Breedlove, anyway? I mean, Smiths are probably descended from blacksmiths, Taylors were tailors, my own name is taken from a Latin word meaning soldier... What did the Breedloves do for a living?

And don't even get me started on John Hancock.

indarwinsshadow: RUN!!! FOR CRAPS SAKE, RUN FOR YOUR BUTTER TART EATING LIVES!!!!!!

obligatory picture of a farmers market if you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about

the farmers market is probably way in the next county, it should be safe

This guy is truly the carrier of a big brass pair. Way back in the day he wrecked at Bonneville, at like 500mph he ran out of salt, went into a ditch, split the streamliner on a telephone pole and ended up in a drainage pond. Rescue crews showed up just as he was pulling himself out of the wreckage, and according to legends one of the first things he said to them was "for my next trick, I'll set myself afire".

Came to post something about Red Lectroids, but I see that's been covered.

There is only one demon on wheels


/He's a demon and he's gonna be chasing after someone

Really hoping I get a chance to check out the salt flats before they disappear. Cool looking place, especially with a thin layer of watery brine on the surface that makes the world look limitless.

I could always go to the non American Flats I suppose , though that would be even more $$

studebaker hoch: germ78

Will he try to drive through a mountain?

Came for the "Back to the future" reference, leaving happy.

[cf.drafthouse.com image 400x300]

"Back To the Future"? SRSLY?

Freiheit666: 800 mph on the ground, that's pretty much insane, consider what kind of forces are at work there.

this dude has big ones for sure.

There's only two, physics and age. I say what the hell, he's going out in style. But peg 75 at 750 Knots, not MPH. Do it right if he's about to go airborne.