Craig Breedlove

Did You Know?

• Breedlove's first Spirit of America was so light on the ground that it did not even need to change tires after its record run.
• The Beach Boys' song 'Spirit of America' was inspired by Breedlove's land speed record set in 1963.

Land vehicle speed records

On August 5, 1963, Breedlove reached 407.45 mph in Spirit of America at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, earning him the land speed record. On October 13, 1964, he reached 468.719 mph in Spirit of America at Bonneville, reclaiming the record from Art Arfons. Two days later, he broke his own record and breached the 500 mph barrier at 526.277 mph. On November 2, 1965, he reached 555.483 mph in Spirit of America Sonic I at Bonneville, reclaiming the record from Art Arfons. Thirteen days later, he breached the 600 mph barrier at 600.601 mph. Breedlove also built an FIA-legal four-wheeler, Sonic I, powered by a 15000 lbf J79 turbojet. On November 15, 1965, he turned in an amazing 608.201 mph return pass. His 600.601 mph record held until 1970, when it was broken by Gary Gabelich's Blue Flame, which reached 630.388 mph. In 1965, Breedlove's wife, Lee Breedlove, took the seat in Sonic 1, making four passes and achieving 308.506 mph, making her the fastest woman alive, and making them the fastest couple, which they remain. According to the author Rachel Kushner, Craig had talked Lee into taking the car out for a record attempt to monopolize the salt flats for the day and block one of his competitors from making a record attempt. After a lengthy break, Breedlove began work on a new Spirit in 1992, eventually named Spirit of America Formula Shell LSRV. The vehicle is 44 ft. 10 in. long, 8 ft. 4 in. wide, and 5 ft. 10 in. high and weighs 9000 lb, with a steel tube or space frame and an aluminium skin body. The engine is a J79 modified to burn unleaded gasoline, generating a maximum thrust of 22,650 lbf. The second run on October 28, 1996, in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, ended in a crash at around 675 mi/h, which remains the fastest survived automobile accident (Breedlove was unhurt). Breedlove also managed to perform a u-turn at around 535 mi/h, which is also a world record. Returning in 1997, the vehicle badly damaged the engine on an early run and when the British ThrustSSC managed over 700 mi/h, the re-engined Spirit could do no better than 676 mi/h. Breedlove believed the vehicle was capable of exceeding 800 mi/h, but was never tested. In late 2006, Breedlove sold the car to Steve Fossett, who planned to attempt the land speed record in 2007. Fossett died in a plane crash in 2007, and the car was put up for sale. Breedlove's vehicle, renamed the 'Sonic Arrow', was rolled out on the Black Rock Desert for a photo opportunity on October 15, 2007. The car is now on permanent display in the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum.

Endurance and speed records for AMC

Breedlove was put on the payroll at American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1968 to prepare the automaker's pony and high-performance cars, the Javelin and the AMX, for speed and endurance records. In January 1968, one month before the official introduction of the AMX model, Breedlove, his wife Lee, and Ron Dykes, established fourteen United States Automobile Club (USAC) and Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) certified speed records for cars of any engine size, and 106 national and international speed and endurance records for cars with less than 488 CID. Two cars were prepared for the endurance speed runs on a five-mile banked track in Texas. The shattered records included a Class C AMX (the No. 2 Lee Breedlove car) with the standard 290 CID AMC V8 engine (bored to 304 cubic inches) with a 4-speed manual transmission, achieving a 24-hour average of 140.79 mi/h that was set by Craig and his wife Lee. New records in a Class B AMX (the No. 1 Craig Breedlove car) using the optional 390 CID 'AMX' V8 (397 cubic inches) with a 3-speed automatic transmission, that included a 75 mi distance with a flying start at 174.295 mi/h, as well as a 173.044 mi/h over a 100 mi distance from a standing start. After the cars were displayed at the Chicago Auto Show in February 1968, Breedlove took the AMX to Bonneville. He established a USAC sanctioned record of 189 mph as well as an unofficial run of over 200 mph. Later in the year, American Motors entered three similarly equipped Javelins with 343 CID AMC V8 engines in the C/Production class at Bonneville. The racing class limits modifications to aerodynamics, but requires changes for safety and also allows engine modifications. The cars included Edelbrock cross-ram 'STR-11' intake manifolds with two Holley carburetors, special cylinder heads that were modified by Joe Mondello as well as 'Doug's' exhaust manifolds, and 'Crower' camshafts. During November 1968, the 'Speed Spectacular Javelin' run by Breedlove was the fastest, reaching 161.73 mi/h establishing a speed record that stood for several years.