The Spirit of America Jet Car Team

At one point fast cars–really, really fast cars–became the focus of my attention. I started following the race for a new land speed record between Craig Breedlove representing the USA and Richard Nobel of UK (who was defending his title). In 1997 both teams had their jet cars on the Black Rock Desert playa just north of Gerlach, Nevada. I was living in Las Vegas at the time, so this was a nine hour drive for me. I was actually able to witness the cars running which was a highlight at that point in my life.

One of the amazing things about the Thrust SSC was when it broke the sound barrier. Strangely enough, this was a first. Never before had a land vehicle broken the sound barrier. Nobody was really sure what would happen; as many people might recall, breaking the sound barrier for the first time with an airplane was a huge undertaking. The challenges of doing this on the ground were almost as daunting. The images of the car breaking the sound barrier were also quite revealing. One can actually see the shock wave in the dust as it was pushed at perpendicular angles to the front nose of the car.

That same summer the British team went on to capture the record of 763 mph with their car known as the Thrust SSC (super sonic car). I was lucky enough to meet Craig Breedlove and become part of the Spirit of America speed team. My job was to maintain and host their website. Craig flew me out to his California shop several times for team meetings. I was able to watch work on the car and rub shoulders with other team leaders. It was exciting stuff. A couple times Craig made trips to Vegas for promotional shows and meetings where I was able to have lunch with him. One such lunch we ate at the Race Rock restaurant which had purchased one of his prior cars and mounted it upside down across the ceiling of the dining area. It was wonderful to hear him talk about building the car and why in the end was never able to make a speed run with it. Eventually Craig was forced to shut down his team and sell his Spirit of America car as a result of a poor economy and lack of funding and interest in America recapturing the speed record. I was sad to see him shut down, but pleased I was able to be part of the team and get to know him.