Nick Mays was driving the yellow "Charlie Brown Special" streamliner, built
by Gene Burkland, when he set the 179 mph record. He sold that car to Jack
Harris (who painted it red with a checkerboard tail) and Jack and his son
Brett both set records in the car with larger displacement engines from
their snowmobile racing days. That would have been 1993 and 1994. (Jack
just took the top eliminator at Bakersfield for the second year in a row in
his front engined dragster.) Jack sold the car to Wade Zimmerman who turned
a K/BGS record 201.745 in the car. It has since been listed for sale in
Bonneville Racing News. It is "The Fastest Car you Start with a Rope."
Runs a belt drive and aluminum front wheels.
The K/BFS record was set by Mark Lingua in their streamliner in 1991 at
223.071 according to the 2003 Rules and Records book. I don't know if Rick
Yacoucci has been on the prowl for that record or not.
The K/GS record was set by Jim Burkdoll at 202.424 in 1989.
I have no idea if these are FIA records but they are Bonneville records and
very respectable speeds. There don't seem to be many challengers out there.
Wes
on 11/25/03 10:57 AM, Malcolm Pittwood at MPittwood@compuserve.com wrote:
> Louise and List
>
> In the August 2003 Fast Facts (from the Speed Record Club) was an article
> by Arie Bras on the NSU cars and bikes up to 1956. The next issue (due out
> soon) is the second part of the story and should cover the era you have
> asked about.
>
> After 1965 there cannot have been many 500cc attempts at over 220 mph (for
> mile and kilo) and there is a clue that Nick Mays made a flying start mile
> speed record in the same class (A - 1 - 3) at 179 mph in October 1987 at
> Bonneville (I guess at the World Finals). So this 220 mph is quite a
> modern record, if indeed it is listed in the correct place on the FIA list.
> Someone should have heard about it and the FIA should have the data.
>
> Does anyone know about or recall the Mays effort, sounds a British name but
> again probably a US racer?
>
> All I can confirm is that the 220+ mph speed was not set in the UK! If it
> had been it would be the outright National British wheeldriven speed
> record.
>
> Malcolm Pittwood, Derby, England.
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