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Russ Wicks and American Challenge Rewrite Stock Car Land Speed Record
Written by: Kevin Krefting   
10/16/2007 - 07:00 PM
Bonneville, Utah
 
Russ Wicks and the American Challenge team returned to Bonneville with a Dodge Charger and set a new World and Guinness Book Stock Car Land Speed Record of 244.9 mph. ยป More Photos

On October 9, the American Challenge team and driver Russ Wicks set a new land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats for a NASCAR car – a Dodge superspeedway car with a NASCAR-approved engine. After cracking the 240mph barrier, the team then improved that mark to 244 mph the following day. The records broke the mark of 222 mph that American Challenge set with a Ford stock car in July 2006.

Wicks – who is the only living person to hold speed records above 200 mph on both land and water – enjoyed a safe and successful assault, although it was not without some excitement. After setting the 244 mph
record, the team changed the setup of the car (lowering the rear to pull the spoiler out of the air to reduce drag) and went out to try to go 250+. The setup changes, combined with the salt getting more slippery in the afternoon, resulted in a situation that made it very difficult to control the car.

Wicks made three attempts with this new configuration and lost control of the car several times. It was a little like driving on ice, Wicks reported Fortunately, the car stayed right-side up, and sustained only minor and repairable damage. On his last run, the car spun 12 rotations before it stopped.