(Words and photos by Doug Gregory) – Remember this – land speed racing is still one of the most pure forms of motorsport because there is no money in it. There is no check at the end of the day and few trophies are ever handed out. LSR is for record-setting, personal goals, and intellectual satisfaction. Also you have to realize that the land speed calendar of events is fairly sparse as compared to other motoring competitions. The logistics and investment of time makes it a labor of love and not a venue to attempt recouping any of it. Just making it to an event can be a win. It’s a relatively small group that actually do it despite most of us gearheads saying ‘we’ll do it one day’.
We’d seen the Bateman Racing ’48 fiat streamliner before, but various issues kept it from showing its potential. The thing is powered by a small-inch LS that really screams. The goal is to run it on the salt and things are actually looking like it could happen this year. One big step was this monster slicing its way through the mile at 196mph. On a longer course this thing is really going to fly. Latest word is Bonneville is looking pretty good so it could be ‘game on’ for a lot of folks that haven’t had the opportunity to stretch their legs on a long run. The three cylinders of screaming fury known as the Sievers’ Geo Metro went 109.7mph before a white cloud began following it around ending their weekend.
The orange, altered ’40 Ford screamed out 135.3mph through the timers. The style of this car reflects the way early land speed cars appeared. Perhaps my favorite car of this particular event is the JM Racing ’69 Dodge Dart. Great sound, good looks, and it ran 138mph and change. The owner was super nice and we enjoyed chatting with him. We walk miles and miles during an ECTA weekend and meeting folks like him is one reason why.
The Jewell ’32 Roadster is flatty-powered and chiseled out a 134.6mph run.
Chad Dowell had the 4.8 LS singing in his black third-gen Camaro and turned a 167.2mph pass.
’85 Harley of Speakerbuilt Engines roared up to 151.6mph.
The Johnson family land-speed Mustang made a charge to a 223mph slip. There’s more in it.
ICE Racing’s ’90 240SX registered 160mph on its best lap.
The ’94 Mustang of Team 64 Racing made a lot of passes with 145mph being the top number.
The 2nd Stude to make the show was the Caddy-powered Champion that zipped to 157.2mph.
Mixing air and propane is the Propane Al Dodge stock car that streaked to a 209.3mph speed and it cooked us all burgers and brats afterward (not really).
Lastly, a quiet BMW 318is made smooth-looking passes and stopped the clocks at 129.6mph.
Enjoy the photos.
I talked with the man with the 69 Dart, he was very modest and a really nice guy,! The car really ran great and I too picked it as a favorite that weekend. I would like to see him race again this fall.
Great stuff. Like to see folks out there just pushing their own setup and having fun doing it. If we weren’t so busy clicking the shutter we’d be in the pits and staging even more talking to people. << My favorite part.
The BMW is Jerry Hampton’s. He’s a GREAT guy and one of the most active car tech inspectors. He bought that Beemer ’cause we wanted a stick shift car in his price range and it was fairly cheap. He’s done some fixing on it but it’s pretty much stock.
Dan