Craig Breedlove was a race car driver who wowed the world in 1965 when he set a world land speed record of 600 mph.
- Died: April 4, 2023 (Who else died on April 4?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 86.
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Craig Breedlove’s legacy
Breedlove grew up watching drag races, competing in them himself as a teen. He discovered a love for driving fast that would take him beyond the limits of what was once considered possible. Breedlove worked with cars at a performance shop, using the skills he gained there to build Spirit of America, his three-wheeled jet-propelled car. He first broke the land speed record in 1962, reaching 407.4 mph on the densely packed Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. But others were driving their own jet-propelled cars to record-setting speeds, and his speed was exceeded the following year. Breedlove responded by taking Spirit of America to another record in 1964 – 468.7 mph – and exceeding his own record just two days later with a 526.3 mph mile.
Spirit of America crashed into a telegraph pole just after Breedlove’s 500+ mph run, but he wasn’t daunted for long. He built a new car, Spirit of America – Sonic I, and in 1965, he drove it a record-setting 600.6 mph. That achievement stood for almost five years; the current record is 760.3 mph, set by Andy Green in 1997. Breedlove dreamed of breaking that number, continuing to tinker with new versions of the Spirit of America throughout his life. His land speed records made him a pop culture figure of the 1960s, and the Beach Boys wrote their song “Spirit of America” about his record-setting runs. Breedlove’s original Spirit of America was repaired after its crash and acquired by Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.
Notable quote
“[A]s soon as you get over 300 [mph] it gets pretty icy up there. You tend to touch the high spots and the car flies over the low spots so the car is airborne between the tops of the bumps. The feel in the car is that you’re not getting traction, like driving on a big sheet of ice, and the faster you go the icier it gets. And everything is a lot faster, the steering is a lot more sensitive, I mean you know, you’re starting to push the envelope.” —from a 2014 interview for Motor Trend
Tributes to Craig Breedlove
Full obituary: Car and Driver
