Glen Helen Owner, Bud Feldkamp, Was Really Feeling the Speed at Bonneville Speeway Last Weekend Where Danny Thompson Broke The Wheel-Driven Land Speed Record at 448.757 mph!
Racer Danny Thompson set a land speed record for piston-powered, wheel-driven cars at the Bonneville Salt Flats on Sunday in a vehicle that his father Mickey first brought to Utah in 19
“We did it!” Thompson wrote on the team’s website. “On Sunday morning, eight years of hard work culminated in a 450.909-mph return run. Averaged with yesterday’s speed of 446.605 mph, we achieved a new two-way AA/FS record of 448.757 mph, enough to make us the world’s fastest piston-powered car.”
But this was more than just a world record. Thompson made the run in the same car his father Mickey Thompson built in 1968 — 50 years ago.
“This year’s Speed Week marked the 50th anniversary of the Challenger II’s construction,” Danny Thompson said. “In 1968, my dad, the mad scientists at Kar Kraft and an elite group of Southern California gearheads created a vehicle that they believed had the potential to become the world’s fastest hot rod. It took five decades, a lot of elbow grease, and a few modifications, but I feel like I’ve finally been able to fulfill their dream, as well as my own. Thanks guys. I share today’s record with all of you.”