Chrysler Power
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World's Fasted Hemi
By George Longacre
Few racers have achieved more with less than Bonneville salt flat racer Al Teague. His operation was self-funded; he built his car in his mother’s garage and relied on his friends for help. Al was, and is, a true American hot rodder.
In 1965, at Bonneville, the Summers brothers set the record for the fastest wheel driven vehicle with an enclosed streamliner, called the Golden Rod, that had four Chrysler Race Hemi’s. The Summers brothers’ record sat at 409.222 MPH for 36 years. To many in the sport, it seemed to be unsurpassable.
In 1992, Al managed a 409.686 MPH in a measured mile and 422.438 MPH in the measured kilometer. Years later a math error was discovered that reduced the kilometer speed to 410 MPH. The exit speed was 432.692; Al had the fastest wheel-driven vehicle in the universe!
Al and his all-volunteer crew did this with a single 426 Hemi, using a Keith Black block, a 4 3/8-inch stroke crankshaft, 4.260-inch cylinder bore, Stage V Engineering heads, and supercharged on nitro, 493 cubic inches of displacement. It developed an estimated 1,200 to 1,300 horsepower.
To define Land Speed Racing, and to help understand it, a track would be needed that allows a car to go as fast as it is capable of.
By George Longacre
Few racers have achieved more with less than Bonneville salt flat racer Al Teague. His operation was self-funded; he built his car in his mother’s garage and relied on his friends for help. Al was, and is, a true American hot rodder.
In 1965, at Bonneville, the Summers brothers set the record for the fastest wheel driven vehicle with an enclosed streamliner, called the Golden Rod, that had four Chrysler Race Hemi’s. The Summers brothers’ record sat at 409.222 MPH for 36 years. To many in the sport, it seemed to be unsurpassable.
In 1992, Al managed a 409.686 MPH in a measured mile and 422.438 MPH in the measured kilometer. Years later a math error was discovered that reduced the kilometer speed to 410 MPH. The exit speed was 432.692; Al had the fastest wheel-driven vehicle in the universe!
Al and his all-volunteer crew did this with a single 426 Hemi, using a Keith Black block, a 4 3/8-inch stroke crankshaft, 4.260-inch cylinder bore, Stage V Engineering heads, and supercharged on nitro, 493 cubic inches of displacement. It developed an estimated 1,200 to 1,300 horsepower.
To define Land Speed Racing, and to help understand it, a track would be needed that allows a car to go as fast as it is capable of.
