It is being reported by multiple sources that the Poteet and Main “Speed Demon”, powered by a Kenny Duttweiler built, twin-turbo, 347ci Chevy on alcohol ran the fastest speed ever recorded by a wheel driven, automotive engine powered car today on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The car recorded a mile speed of 457mph and an exit speed of 462mph. Totally insane! The transmission failed on the return trip so it is not an official record, but the numbers speak for themselves.
The team is running on Al Teague’s 409mph record, which has stood since 2002. We caught up with Keith Turk this evening and broke the news to him as he’s traveling on ECTA business. His comment, “Those guys have been sneaking up on it for a while now. Everyone has known that when they got the handle on it, the car was going to be bad fast, and those numbers are bad fast!”
We’ll work the phones for more information. In the meantime, here are the numbers as reported by Bret Kepner:
Entry: 452.944
Kilo: 458.189
Mile: 457.964
Exit: 462.345
Well done, George, Ron and team!
An awesome accomplishment for sure!
Next – the 500MPH barrier on the salt.
I’m the designer of SpeedDemon. We do not run a late model hemi. The engine is a small block Chevy, 4 1/8 bore. There is no nitro in the fuel; only straight alcohol.
A.J.,
Sorry for the bad info. I’ve seen the car and knew there was Chevy power in there. When I read that earlier I assumed a change had been made. Ditto on the nitro.
I have made those corrections!
Congrats on the performance of this amazing machine!
Somebody with a proper HEMI (or better yet, a CAMMER) will reset it. SBC/LSx sucks . . . it’s a cheapskate accountants’ choice of technology.
If you knew how much spent to go that fast, you wouldn’t call them cheapskates.
George and company are some crazy serious folks when it comes to the Stroker McGurk adage of ;
” Too much power is never enough ”
@ IHateChevy
Sorry to hear that IHC , cause yer Chrysler’s being upstaged by Chevy time and time again , on and off the race track
e.g ZR1 Corvette , Camaro ZL1 etc etc
So …. a big
L
Back at ya !
Are you really suggesting that an SBC is less “cheapskate” or less inherently compromised than a built HEMI or cammer?
I could spend $100,000 on a flathead, but from an engineering standpoint, it’s still a “cheap” design in comparsion to a proper HEMI or four-valve mill. It’s the same with the ubiquitous SBC.
I’m sure that someone with as deep pockets as the SpeedDemon crew could have “upped their game” (and m.p.h.) with something more optimized than a dadgum two-valve wedge that’s built to a price by “Government Motors.”
Awesome #’s! Too bad the salt demons kept ya from backing it up. Maybe you’ll pull it off at the Finals. See ya all then.