Craig Breedlove (March 23, 1937 – April 4, 2023) was an American professional race car driver and a five-time world land speed record holder. He was the first person in history to reach 500 mi/h, and 600 mi/h, using several turbojet-powered vehicles, all named Spirit of America.

Land vehicle speed records

In 1962, he made his first attempt, in a freewheeling tricycle (ignoring FIA rules requiring four wheels, at least two driven; in the event, FIM happily accepted it) powered by a General Electric J47 turbojet engine. On August 5, 1963, this first Spirit made its first record attempt, using just 90% of available thrust to reach 388.47 mph over the measured mile. The return pass, on 95% power, turned up a two-way average of 407.45 mph. Spirit of America was so light on the ground that it did not even need to change tires afterward. For 1964, Breedlove faced competition from Walt Arfons' Wingfoot Express (piloted by Tom Green), as well as from brother Art Arfons in his four-wheel, FIA-legal Green Monster. With more engine power, Breedlove upped the record to 468.72 mph "[w]ith almost insolent ease", then to 526.28 mph, making him the first man to exceed 500 mph. This pass was not without incident, however, for one of his drogue parachute's shroud lines parted, and Spirit of America ran on for 5 mi before hitting a telegraph pole and coming to rest in a lake. This record stood all of twelve days before Green Monster broke it, recording a two-run average of 536.71 mph. In response, Breedlove built an FIA-legal four-wheeler, Sonic I, powered by a 15000 lbf J79 turbojet. November 2, 1965, Breedlove entered the FIA record book with a two-run average of 555.483 mph. This lasted even less time than before, for Green Monster came back five days later at 576.553 mph. On November 15, Breedlove responded with a 600.601 mph record (after turning in an amazing 608.201 mph return pass), which held until 1970. (It would be broken by Gary Gabelich's Blue Flame, which reached 630.388 mph.) To take the record back, Breedlove planned a supersonic rocket car, "complete with ejector seat." Also 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. During 1968, Lynn Garrison, President of Craig Breedlove & Associates, started to package a deal that saw Utah's Governor, Calvin Rampton, provide a hangar facility for the construction of a supersonic car. Bill Lear, of Learjet fame, was to provide support, along with his friend Art Linkletter. Playboy magazine hoped to have the car painted black, with a white bunny on the rudder. TRW was supplying a lunar lander rocket motor. A change in public interest saw the concept shelved for some time. They also negotiated for the use of the late Donald Campbell's wheel-driven Bluebird CN7 record-breaker. After a lengthy break from world records and making his name as a real estate agent, 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 (13.67 m by 2.54 m by 1.78 m) and weighs 9000 lb, construction is on a steel tube or space frame with an aluminium skin body. The engine is the same as in the second Spirit, a J79, but it is modified to burn unleaded gasoline and generates a maximum thrust of 22,650 lbf (100.75 kN). The second run of the vehicle on October 28, 1996, in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, ended in a crash at around 675 mi/h. 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 (an engine builder who became known for Oldsmobile engines) 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.

Death

Breedlove died on April 4, 2023, at the age of 86, at home in Rio Vista, California. The cause of death was cancer, his wife, Yadira Breedlove, said.

Awards and legacy

In 1993 Breedlove was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and in 2000 into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. The Beach Boys' song "Spirit of America" was "inspired by Breedlove's land speed record, set in 1963."

Land vehicle speed records