200 mph… this used to be the holy grail of 1/4 mile drag racing… who could be the first to break this magical barrier? It seemed unobtainable for many, until one day in 1964, at a New Jersey 1/4 mile strip, when a 32 year old top fuel drag racer, by the name of Don Garlits, piloted his Swamp Rat rail to a speed of 200.44 mph. And to prove it wasn't a fluke he immediately followed it up with a 200.89 mph run. History was made and Don Garlits instantly became a household name across the states.
Fast forward to next weekend and a new, long standing motorsports barrier could soon be broken: the magic 10 minute mark up the Pikes Peak mountain hill climb. The current record was set in 2007 by Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima of Japan, who clocked a time of 10:01.408, in his 1000 bhp mid-engined Suzuki XL7 Hill Climb Special. He'll be back this year to try and break into the 9s… We'll be following along with great interest.
:R