Craig Breedlove (March 23, 1937 – April 4, 2023)
On November 15, 1965 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, 28-
year-old Californian Craig Breedlove set a new land-speed record,
600.601 miles an hour, in his car, the Spirit of America, which
cost $250,000 and was powered by a surplus engine from a
Navy jet.
He drove across the desert twice that day, since international
world-record rules require a car to make two timed one-mile
runs in one hour. The average speed of the two trips was logged.
During his first trip, Breedlove traveled at a rate of 593.178 mph;
during his second, the first time any person had officially gone
faster than 600 mph, he traveled at a rate of 608.201 mph. “That
600 is about a thousand times better than 599,” he said afterward.
“Boy, it’s a great feeling.”
Spirit of America on exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
