Thanks. I think I already mentioned that there are lots and lots of heros to me on the salt. New ones almost every year. Jeff Brock and the Salt Cat guys both ran really good using Buick Straight Eight power. Hats off to them. Rick Yacoucci who was already a hero going 280 with a unblown flathead. Wow. It never stops and I hope it never will.
I think M/T is kind of like "Big Daddy" is to fuel dragsters, he did it all, was a visionary, and probably the all around greatest ever. I went through this whole thread and haven't seen Norm Thatcher's name anywhere. He ran doorslammers, but was older than dirt. Norm was a hero of mine when I was growing up. The Summers Brothers? Wow, the most exquisite car ever built. I never could really get behind "Foxy Hero", Breedlove.
Ed Iskandarian, just because I guess. I try not to have too many heros, I had some once but the damned pedestals kept falling over.
May '10 , watched Bill Warner pilot his turbo Hayabusa down the rough WW2 concrete course at Maxton @ 272+... and hit 3 cones in the shut-down ,ripped some fairing off...yet he was as calm as a cucumber....Seemed like a hero to me Stan
Without any doubt for me.......Willie Buchta! (Frued,Slim,Bobby,Lucky,John Noonan etc, Sparky, etc. etc. etc.) Crow. LFFL
Craig breedlove five-time land speed record holder first over 400-500-600 mph Malcolm Campbell, in his famed Bluebird, would set the Land Speed Record nine (9) times between 1924 and 1936, with speeds between 146 mph and 301 mph. He would also set the Water Speed Record at 142 mph! Mickey Thompson. Not only was he one of the all-time greats in drag racing lore, but he also made his mark at the Indianapolis 500, Bonneville, off-road competition, and a wide variety of motorsports competition venues. As a pioneer, Thompson had few equals. In addition to being credited for designing and building the first slingshot dragster, Thompson also set the first records with a two- and four-engine vehicles. His four-engine Challenger achieved Land Speed Record history with a 406.60-mph blast in 1960, and at one time, he held nearly 200 FIA international and USAC national speed records. His Danny Ongais-driven Mustang Mach I Funny Car dominated the class in 1969 with a chassis design that revolutionized the breed. Thompson was also the first to promote and stage off-road races in a stadium venue - a move that exposed the sport to thousands of new fans. While on his way the 1958 Nationals in Oklahoma, Thompson made an unscheduled stop at the Bonneville Nationals to test his new twin-Chrysler dragster that his longtime associate, Fritz Voigt, had built for him, but the car ran so fast that they stayed for the duration of the event and smashed the Bonneville Nationals speed record by nearly 25 mph with a 294-mph clocking. This inspired Thompson to build a four-engine car to break Englishman John Cob's 394.196-mph record for the flying mile and 393.82 for the kilometer. Because of their narrower external dimensions and strong bottom end, Pontiac engines were chosen to replace the Chrysler Hemis, and Thompson received valuable backing from Mobil Oil, Ed Iskenderian, Grant Piston Rings, Joe Hunt Magnetos, Stu Hilborn, and Goodyear for the development of the tires. Thompson, who at that time was working the graveyard shift in the pressroom of the L.A. Times and managing Lions Drag Strip on the weekends, constructed the car with the assistance of Voigt, his neighbors, Cecil Schremp and Roger Flores, and aluminum fabricator Don Borth. A number of problems, including a spinout at 200 mph, parachute-braking difficulties, and the disconnection of the oxygen-supply system, thwarted Thompson's efforts in 1959, but he still managed to break his 294-mph record by an American with a 362.31-mph clocking. He came back in 1960 to hit 406.60 mph and break Cobb's one-way record of 403, but a broken driveshaft prevented him from making the required backup run within the allotted time of one hour, and the record was not officially certified. Thompson, now a worldwide-known motorsports celebrity, decided to concentrate on FIA acceleration records, so he went to March Air Force Base in July with four different Pontiac cars: the Assault and Attempt streamliners, a Class F Dragmaster chassis sans body, and a 348-horsepower 389-cid Pontiac Catalina. In one day, Thompson broke all eight international records and six of 10 American national records. The October 1961 issue of Car Life magazine reported: "The new records, plus the 28 world, international, and national records [Thompson] had established in 1959 and 1960 at March AFB and the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, gave him more [records] than any man has ever held at a given time." Thompson still had hopes of establishing a Land Speed Record in excess of 400 mph, but the deteriorating salt conditions at Bonneville in 1961 and 1962 had reduced the usable course from14 miles to nine miles, and he was forced to retire the Challenger. The car is currently on display at the NHRA Motorsports Museum.
I have the good fortune to know someone that competed at Bonneville in the early 1950-s and is a fixture at Speed Week as the announcer ... Glen Barrett ...
Ken Warby [I know its on water] has had the record at 317mph for over 30 years. He set the record with a lo budjet boat and a lot of hard work and dedication. I met him at Clayton last year; you won't find a nicer more humble guy. He is 70 years young and if his record is broken while his health is still good he will be back in the saddle.
Barry Larson, Greg Benson, cause they had the need for speed and still do and are true hot rodders ,and were way before it was in fashion.......
M/T, Summers Brothers, Norm thatcher. Don't know if anyone older than Norm beat it up like he did. Oops! Forgot Al Teague...
When I read the title of this thread, I was thinking of actual LSR contenders, rather than lakes/Bonneville racers in general.
Another vote for Gary for taking the Sam Sampson coupe ( with an original I bean axle front end) over 200. But also for being the kind of guy that lets all his friends and family drive his corvette.
For those of you who would like to be somebody's Land speed Hero. Don't forget this car is available for loan, subject to qualification, to run on the salt in 2011.
Mickey Thompson because he didnt just build a car, he built the parts too. Burt Monroe because who doesnt like a guy who can build con rods and pistons in his home garage.
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