We’ve all pushed our own limits, driven through the night, seen things that weren’t really there due to exhaustion and maybe even nodded off at the wheel. Chances are, we did it in a modern car with air conditioning, a soft ride, a radio, and it was on some well lit highway. Taking into account experiences like that makes the accomplishments of Ab Jenkins that much more impressive. Jenkins is one of the great figures in American speed and his rise to fame was aided by what you are going to see in this video. Long story short, Ab Jenkins drove a massive 1932 Pierce Arrow roadster packing a 462ci V12 engine for 24 hours straight at an average speed of almost 120 mph. Jenkins did this on the Bonneville Salt Flats around a 10-mile circular course. The only times he stopped were for momentary refueling and mechanical checks. At night the course was lit with pots filled with oil which were ignited. Reportedly he suffered hallucinations, obvious sleep depravation, and all of the other natural elements that conspire to prevent someone from staying along for 24 hours straight, let along stay awake for 24-hours straight while driving 100+ mph in a circle. All this done of course in an open car.

The film is just that, a film. There is no snappy music or narrator. There is natural audio of the car making its great noise, of the crewmen swarming the Pierce Arrow as it pulls into the pit area, of Jenkins wife and kids rushing up to the car asking if he’s OK and giving him tea, etc. There is airplane footage of him streaking around the salt and there is even under-car footage that we don’t even want to know how they got. This is an incredible piece of historic film that anyone into the history of racing or speed in this country should watch. It isn’t grainy or rough. The picture is incredible. There are a couple moments of junk sound but the rest of the audio is perfect.

Having been to the salt we can’t imagine how he didn’t get disoriented at some point and just head off into the white horizon. There are few things to use as visual reference out there and he needed to stay on course for 24-hours straight. One of the most amazing parts of the video starts out off. You’ll see Jenkins driving along with what appears to be a baton in his hand. As he comes by the start/finish line he drops the baton. A crewman opens the cylinder up and there’s a note in it! Jenkins would scrawl notes while driving at 120mph around the salt and pass them to the crew on his condition, the condition of the car, etc. How awesome is that?!

This whole thing is amazing and you should give it a watch from front to back. It is time well spent!

PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE AMAZING FOOTAGE OF AB JENKINS’ 1932 HIGH SPEED ENDURANCE RACING FEAT –