Photos by Dave Kommel & Tony Thacker
Presented by BUAMotorsport.com, RatTrapRacing.com & USAutomotive.co.uk

Brandon Leggitt set Fastest Speed at 253 mph, Roadkill’s David Freiburger ran 206 mph in the Hot Rod Camaro, and Alan Fogliadini, driving the DRM Lakester, made an unscheduled sharp right turn.

They said it would be a hot one and it was— but not temperature wise. The El Mirage dirt was hot, hot, hot where plenty of records fell despite dire warnings of high temps. First out of the traps was Roadkill’s David Freiburger who was trying to bump the 208.791 class record he set in May in the ProCharger 347 ci Hot Rod Magazine Special Camaro of Keith and Tonya Turk. Unfortunately, David ran 206 and could not better his C/Blown Gas Coupe record.

After setting the record in May David said, “Got it, my sixth and most difficult and important 200 MPH Club here at El Mirage. This is hot rodding’s oldest hallowed ground, and it’s the record that means the most to me and the one I’ve worked for the longest. I went 208.791 mph to smash a C/Blown Gas Coupe record of 200.681 that was set by Andy Granatelli in 1984.”

Killing it as usual was Brandon Leggitt in ‘The Beast’: the World’s Fastest stock-bodied Studebaker, who set the Fastest Speed of the meet at 253.012 mph. Brandon also set a new class record in the Bardahl-sponsored Stude’ tuned by father Les.

Making that unscheduled sharp right turn, driver Alan Fogliadini got into it a little hard off the line in the Dannenfelzer, Richards & Madsen (DRM) lakester but managed to save it and get back on course. Incidentally, DRM holds the El Mo record in their E/Blown Fuel Lakester with a speed of 261.334. 

Ferguson Racing, likewise, did well and put both the Osborn & Ferguson Roadster and the Ferguson Racing Roadster in the record books. Tyler Osborn took the blown Ardun-powered Deuce Roadster to a new record at 173 mph, bumping it from 160. Meanwhile, Shaun Mattern took the Ferguson racing Roadster to a new record of 176 mph.

There are two things that are endearing about land speed racers and land speed racing. Firstly, there is very little ego evident. Of course, it exists, but racers and teams are usually so busy doing their own thing that it doesn’t really matter what others are up to—unless they’re breaking your record, that is. Secondly, there’s a great diversity of racing machinery, everything from electric-powered lakesters to a 3/4-scale Ford Taurus driven by Mike Fitzmorris of Antigravitas Racing.

For results and a schedule of events, go to: SCTA-BNI.org