New Land speed challenger announced

[1212FBGS]

The best way to describe him is “Wanna Be Poser” Alto he claims to have raced Motorcycles and had Honda support he does not claim any races competed in or won (probably cuz these details can be checked out) Then he bought a boat.. Oops I don’t know that for sure, heck he probably begged or borrowed it and drove it to break a long standing record (something those boat guys “don’t do” or are not interested in doing) so now he is a self proclaimed boat racer…Cuz he did it…. Then he goes to a drag race school and proclaims he is a drag racer…never actually competed in a professional drag race… but since he sat in one and can spell it.. now he is a drag racer…Oh, Oh, then there’s the indy car thing… again talked someone, heck probably paid someone something just to "test it" and now he’s an Indy car driver…Then he gets himself a NASCAR… and takes it to Bonneville.. again racing it in a venue that NASCAR boys don’t do and sets himself a self proclaimed record… now he’s a NASCAR driver….A Guiness record please, heck all ya have to do is fill out their forms and put up the money and you bought yourself a record… Everyone knows the real book of LSR records is the SCTA book…Don’t see his name there….Do ya see the pattern here that I do… he gets a vehicle and does with it that people don’t normally do just to align himself with that sport and claim “he’s race those”.. His actions probably have not gotten him much respect in the boat circle as well as Indy, NASCAR, and now the LSR community…. Wonder who he is tryin to impress….not me.
Kent

[Malcolm UK]

Kent

The SCTA do not have any role with water speed records.  The man hired the boat and set an official record under an International body.

Kent, I have to agree that the 'NASCAR' bid was contrived - but he has still run over 240 mph and other NASCAR legal Stock cars have been seen on 'your salt' according to magazines and books.  Who supplied the clocks and facilities on the salt when he ran?  I doubt that it was as incestuous as that Budweiser bid Jack.  Someone must have run the clocks and watched?

No offence Pork Pie intended but your rant smacked of being fuelled by something other than a reasonable spirit.  I will stand you a non alcholic drink next time we meet. 

As to the so called 'Gas Record' for streamliners.  As only the SCTA club and similar USA organisations have a grouping for what vehicles running on what is called 'gasoline', then for Russ to run at Bonneville but not be observed by his peers in SCTA or USFRA would be unacceptable.  But he would still be damned fast at over 370 mph.

The history books on land speed record breaking show that a great number of record holders did not race with the SCTA either at first or at all.  Is it just another case that this guy has ambition, self belief in abundance, a good PR team promoting everything and (probably worst of all) he has sponsorship!?

Malcolm

[JackD]

"Money talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, until they talk you out of yours.
 I am not impressed by it enough to waste any time or money." (me)

[1212FBGS]

Malcolm
It seems your reading interpolation skills are still lacking... reread my post again before commenting on it... Real NASCAR racers go as fast as they possibly can down the straight and then.....turn left!...This Meeks guy wouldn’t think of doing "that" cuz he wouldn’t set a record.. A real NASCAR racer goes to every race on the schedule and attempts to qualify... this guy just buys a car at takes it to a different venue and sets a self proclaimed record just to align himself with a sport..... I suspect he would have tried to set a "fastest Indy car" record but the cost of a newer car capable of doing it was probably too much so now he is gonna have someone build him a car and self create a record just so he can accomplish his goals I don’t know what you call it over there but we call it a "POSER"
Kent

[PorkPie]

No offence Pork Pie intended but your rant smacked of being fuelled by something other than a reasonable spirit.  I will stand you a non alcholic drink next time we meet. 

Malcolm......

Don Vesco, Art Arfons, Nolan White, Al Teague and more.........hot rodder and racer.......
........may be you understand now........................

....and I can buy myself a drink............

[Malcolm UK]

Kent.  I agreed it was a contrived record for a NASCAR car.  I did not say thet Russ Wicks could ever claim to be a NASCAR driver.  I could not either but I have driven a left hand only oval.  I do not agree that the Guinness book should list such a record - as the cars only exist in one country.  But why does it work the other way round in history - when a NASCAR driver leaves the oval and sets a straightline speed down the salt? 

Pork Pie.  Seems that whilst we both admire the hot rodder and landspeed record breaker (please add to those you named, John Beckett and keith Turk).  Do you do not rate anyone (like Russ) using another route to setting a speed 'record' as being deserving of any encouragement or praise?  So as to keep the posting on new challengers in the spirit of a 'pi**ing contest', what then do you think Pork Pie of Richard Noble, Andy Green (before JCB Dieselmax), Richard Brown, Sir Malcolm and Donald Campbell. Don Wales, John Cobb or even the late Steve Fossett (RIP)? 

If the guy Wicks has someone build a 'gas streamliner' and the target is an SCTA/BNI speed - which exists as a class in your US sanctioning organisation record book and no where else -  why should that be "self creating a record"?

Self publicist Russ may be, but not many would set a water speed record over 200mph just to be classed as a "poser".  But what do I know, I have yet to drive a racer on the salt.

Malcolm

[PorkPie]

what then do you think Pork Pie of Richard Noble, Andy Green (before JCB Dieselmax), Richard Brown, Sir Malcolm and Donald Campbell. Don Wales, John Cobb or even the late Steve Fossett (RIP)? 

This guys are true racers - with Don Wales, I never got a explain why he stopped to go forward with his electric attempt - he pushed for a long time - built the racers and run them in England - was he running out of money?

With Russ water speed record is it different - but it will need too long to explain it here....much too long.

By the way - you really mean that this guys, especially a John Cobb, done it for public.......I think with your list you went a little bit far out of the window......think about this......

[PorkPie]

A last comment to Russ....did you know how close he was to kill himself when he set the water speed record...

As I wrote at the beginning....stupid or got the guts or both together.....but making sucide is not the best advertisment for our sport - if on water or on land.....

[racergeo]

      In the late 90's I was at the World Finals and was scoping out various class cars when I came across a particularly attractive steamliner owned by Jim Burkdall and driven by a fellow with a multicolored mohawk. I sat in disbelief stairing at the engine. It used a 60's block with camel hump heads and old 60's Hilborn's with the short little chrome metal stacks, 1 3/4" at most. From my recollection of the era about a 400hp motor at most.  Finally Jim himself asked me if I had a question. I asked why he was using such old tech. And he said their last run was their fastest ever (303mph) and there computer indicated 17% wheel slip!! Wow. That car looked like a 7/8 Nish car and it was tapped at 303? So does anyone want to comment on why. No takers on the wing so many successfully run on lakesters, no speculaters on how fast cars can go with traction control and all the new tech. Why not a wing on a steamliner. I want to learn!!!!! Teach me!!! And quit picking on poor old Russ. AND seriously when you guys put your minds to it you post some really infomative stuff, so get to it! (pork pie)lol

[JackD]

"Tough crowd." (Rodney Dangerfield - successful restaurant owner)
It kinda looks like Russ is ranked right down there with the "World's Tallest Midget", and has gathered all the respect he has earned.

[PorkPie]

  Why not a wing on a steamliner.

Which is more aerodynamic - a crate of beer (bottle) or a block of bricks with the same outside dimension.
The crate of beer has less cross section with the space between the bottles.....but extremely bad aerodynamic so the bricks are much better.

A lakester is the nightmare for everything called airflow....clean airflow.

When a lakester use a wing, the different of interrupt or destroyed airflow will be so small, that the increase of downforce from the wing is a big plus for going fast - a wing produce downforce with this that he break the airflow.

A streamliner is living from the airflow.....you push so much hp in.....and you still go slow....if the aerodynamic on a streamliner is bad and the airflow is interrupt.

Best example - Hoffman Markley streamliner, they add small wings on - 8 inches on both sides and slowed down by more than 20 mph.

2002 - August - Al Teague used a wing and slowed down by more the 20 mph, his last run at Speedweek was without the wing and he went again over 400....if there was not the late Nolan White he would be fastest of the meet.

The only chance to improve downforce by a kind of wing, without disturbing the airflow are small carnads, may be up to 2 1/2 inch wide when they are right designed - no road track profil - high speed profile which start to work at speed higher than 160 mph.....but this as the last solution if there is no other way to improve the performance.

[Sumner]

      .................... And he said their last run was their fastest ever (303mph) and there computer indicated 17% wheel slip!! Wow. ..................

17% wheel spin doesn't necessarily mean it would have gone 17% faster.  They had enough HP and not enough weight to spin the tires, but if they were hooked up they might not had enough HP to go much faster.  Remember 8 times the HP to run twice as fast.  For speculation's sake lets say they did have 400 HP and were only using 375 HP at the 303 mph speed when they got tire spin.  17% faster would be 354 mph.  To run that speed they would need 598 HP.  Likewise using the 400 HP figure if they would have been hooked up they would have run 309.500 mph or about 6 miles an hour faster.

There are spreadsheets here to help figure this stuff:

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/bvillecar/bville-spreadsheet-index.html#Drag%20Force%20--HP%20to%20run%20a%20Speed

..........no speculators on how fast cars can go with traction control and all the new tech.......................

Traction control might not of helped the car go any faster.  It might have stopped the wheel spin only.  Remember it doesn't give you traction just helps you not spin the tires.

........................ Why not a wing on a steamliner. ......................

To add to Pork Pie in order for a wing to create down force no matter how well designed it is going to have some frontal area and aero drag.  From the example above you can see any aero drag is going to result in big HP figures to overcome it.  Personally I can't see using a wing on anything if you can avoid it by having room to add weight.

c ya,

Sum

[Speed Limit 1000]

       I wonder if maybe the Nish car looks like a 1 1/8 scale Burkdoll car ?

Some people know that the body for the Nish liner was made by Jim and his son so maybe they are alike for a reason.

[racergeo]

    Thanks for all your responses,and now before you unwrap your gifts, one LAST thought, the reason I came to my lame conclusion. That being that traction trumps aero if you have unused HP on tap and I used the Burkland example where their may be 1000 unused HP.
     In the lower steamliner and lakester classes there is quite abit  of speed difference in the normally asperated classes. I would have to believe they are all putting their power to the ground to set records. Fast Freddy D. and Joe Law go huge speed (Joe with a C engine) with those 30" tires sucking speed. If they streamlined their cars and kept their wings so they could use all availible power that would put both over 400mph to my way of thinking. I hope I've givin enough info in a short response to see my point. 
    xxxx good on ya, see ya mates!

[PorkPie]

 they could use all availible power that would put both over 400mph to my way of thinking.

Not really, to cover the wheels for streamlining means in the same time to increase the cross section size....and the cross section is part of the drag formula.......to go 400 mph needs a good combination of power, aerodynamic and cross section....