Under grey skies and in front of a tiny group of spectators at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota, Kurt Anderson made drag racing history last weekend piloting his Sonic Stinger rocket dragster to a (powered) eighth mile elapsed time of 3.82 seconds at 210 mph and then coasted to a quarter mile time of 5.96 seconds at 200mph becoming the first man to drive a rocket powered dragster on an American drag strip in nearly 30 years. While being the first guy to “break the ice” in a full sized dragster, the unflappable Captain Jack McClure who has been on the tip of the spear of this rocket revival here in the states cranked off a 132mph shot (eighth mile) in his famed rocket kart. These runs happened under the watchful eye of Ky Michaelson and the rest of the “Rocket Boys” team that has been working hard to get these vehicles ready for competition.

The video of Anderson’s run is cool because it was shot down past the eighth mile clocks and the instant violence of these cars can be appreciated. There’s no wind up like with a jet car, there’s no buzzing RPMs like in an alcohol dragster, there’s silence, a deafening shriek and the damned thing is gone and making speed like nothing you have ever seen. The long term goal here is to re-establish an exhibition program for the rocket cars at NHRA and IHRA tracks so that they can be run to wow crowds and give them the same thrill that they did through the 1970s and deep into the 1980s. These guys are taking the cautious approach and doing everything right.

This run does not represent the end of the trip but really represents the first real step in refining the car, tuning its dynamics, and making sure that all their ducks are in a row so testing and demonstration runs can continue. This is one of the neatest things that’s happening in the sport right now for North American fans. We’ll be following the Rocket Boys and their progress in bringing thrust powered thrills back to race fans from coast to coast!

HERE’S ANDERSON’S TIME SLIP AS SHOWN ON A PHOTO POSTED TO THE ROCKET BOYS FB PAGE –