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While GM and So-Cal were putting records on the books with the Ecotec, Hot Rod Magazine’s David Freiburger was putting in his bid for membership in the 200 mile per hour club.
Freiburger was there to challenge the salt. His goal; break two hundred miles per hour and get inducted into the exclusive two hundred mile per hour club. His friend Keith Turk, provided the car. They modified it for David to race. He was ready. The starter gave the signal. And he was off for the first time on the Salt in this car. As the car got up to speed he noticed there was a lot of smoke coming into the cockpit. 
“Now I knew there was going to be a little bit of that cause we had some valve covers that had open breathers and you generally get a pretty good mist of oil, but it started getting more and more and more. So I finally just made the call, you know. I’m gonna click this thing,” said Freiburger, explaining that he finally popped the chute.
He wasn’t sure how fast he’d been going and was worried that because he had to shut down early he’d failed to break the record. He shouldn’t have worried. “I shut it off about 1/8 mile before the 4 mile flag and still ran 240 miles an hour on a 225 mile per hour record – 200 mile an hour club baby – this is so cool. You know what, it’s bigger now than I thought it would be. This is way cool,” said Freiburger as he donned his new red ballcap.
It was quite an event and we decided to come back for the World Finals in October. GM and So-Cal teamed up again for another round of the Salt Flats shoot out.
The Cobalt was back for more and so was the roadster but the big news was that the retro-future belly tanker was finally going to run for a record.
We showed up early the next day in time for tech inspections. All the cars were prepped and made ready for the salt.
Finally, the belly tank got a shot at making it into the record books. This is the legacy vehicle and it looks great. It was 52 years since the founder of the So-Cal Speedshop, Alex Xydias, set a record at Bonneville in first belly tanker. The GM So-Cal team wanted to repeat history.
Maybe this was going to the belly tank’s turn in the limelight. The crew made some modifications after its first run and it looked like the tank would do it.
Things were looking up and finally it was official after several more runs. A new record of over 179.381 miles per hour. The belly tank runs weren’t the only reason to celebrate. Todd Hass was happy to finally be a member of the 200-mile per hour club with a record of 210.881.
He was elated. “It’s official – motor tested out fine, everything went great and you don’t get the red hat ‘til it’s official. I’m tired right now from all the adrenaline and not sleeping last night thinking about the run. So I’m a little tired right now but I really, really enjoyed the moment.”
If you want to win a red hat make the drive to the Salt Flats and give it a go. Or, you can just come up and watch these speed lovers have the time of their lives. But if you fly up, remember to wash the salt off the rental car before you turn it in. Not doing so will cost you a couple of hundred bucks and you won’t get a red hat. How do I know? Don’t ask.
Useful Links:
General Motors.com
www.gm.com
So-Cal Speedshop
www.so-calspeedshop.com
Hot Rod Magazine
www.hotrod.com
Southern California Timing Association
www.SCTA-BNI.org
Save the Salt Foundation
www.savethesaltflats.com
Wendover, Nevada Visitor & Convention Bureau
www.wendovercity.com
Bureau of Land Management Salt Lake Field Office
www.ut.blm.gov/saltlake_fo/
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