On November 15, 1965 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah,
28-year-old Californian Craig Breedlove set a new land-speed
record of 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.

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.”

Norman Craig Breedlove Sr. (March 23, 1937 – April 4, 2023)

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.
     

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.

Henry Ford, standing, and Barney Oldfield in 1902, with the
“999” racing automobile.

On January 12, 1904, Henry Ford set a land-speed record of 91.37
mph on the frozen surface of Michigan’s Lake St. Clair. He was
driving a four-wheel vehicle, dubbed the “999,” with a wooden
chassis but no body or hood. Ford’s record was broken within
a month at Ormond Beach, Florida, by a driver named William K. Vanderbilt; even so, the publicity surrounding Ford’s achievement
was valuable to the auto pioneer, who in June of the previous year
had incorporated the Ford Motor Company, which would eventually
go on to become one of America’s Big Three automakers.

 
Henry Ford (1863-1947)    Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield |
                                            (1878-1946)

The 999 today at The Henry Ford Museum.

Jessi Combs (July 27, 1983 – August 27, 2019)

(FoxNews) – Jet-car race driver and TV personality Jessi Combs died
tragically during an attempt to break her own land-speed record.

She was involved in the fatal crash during her attempt on Tuesday
on a dry lake bed in Oregon. She was attempting to hit 619 mph.

The details of the crash have not been released at this time.

William Herz became the first person to race a motorcycle over 200 miles
per hour. He was clocked at 210 mph at the Bonneville Speedway, an area
of the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah,