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The Ultimate Ride (continued)
"My dad is the computer guy," she said of her 85-year-old father, Keith Hunter of Great Falls. "He bought it, tends it and maintains it. I have two brothers who work on the crew. And then Tom's brother-in-law is there, along with one of his best friends. There are some dear friends from Missoula, Herb Ferguson Sr. who was our rock and now his son, Herb Jr., and his wife, Nicky. There's Gary Stauffer, one of Tom's longtime friends. Then Herb had a friend named Rex Svoboda who wanted to get involved in Bonneville, so now he is with us. And there is Bill York, who just started, and he is our electronics and radio guy. Does that make 10?"
Before Tom steps into the streamliner for a run, all the salt is meticulously brushed from the bottom of his shoes so at high speed it does not ping around in the tight cockpit, creating a "popcorn maker" effect. Despite the extensive team, once both engines are fired it all comes down to the driver. As Gene closes the custom canopy, a safety brace fixed inside keeps Tom's helmet in place, restricting any forward movement. Strapped into the five-point harness, his right leg crosses under the left to reach the gas pedal, as the traditional pedal location is occupied by the front driveshaft, which is tucked precariously under his right leg. With each pass, Tom will go as fast as the car will let him, making decisions second by second, depending on the track condition and how the streamliner is handling.
| For Tom, Gene and Betty, land speed racing is more than a casual pursuit; it has been their lives for nearly four decades. |
Watching from afar, the streamliner accelerates down the 80-foot-wide course. It is an orange blur with white salt spray billowing up behind, reaching 340 mph in the first quarter-mile. From the driver's viewpoint inside the cockpit, the special liquid-filled Auto Meter gauges reduce the needle bounce, making them discernable as the entire car shakes violently. Peering out through the football-size windshield, Tom's eyes focus on the horizon. Above 350 mph, the massive vibration rattles his eyeballs enough to play tricks on his perception, making the 4-foot-high flags on the edge of the course appear to be 25 to 30 feet tall. Putting the extreme speed into perspective, at 450 mph driving from Bozeman to Butte on I-90, the normal 75-minute trip is abbreviated to an 11-minute jaunt, which translates into a flying mile covered in eight seconds.
Looking at the project purely as a physics problem, traveling at 400 or 500 mph in an aerodynamic vehicle with more than 4,000 horsepower does not appear to be that difficult. But don't forget the fickleness of Mother Nature, who is responsible for preparing the crystalline white racecourse and the strain every high-speed pass puts on the one-of-a-kind streamliner. Getting the car right is just a part of the equation. For Tom, Gene and Betty, land speed racing is more than a casual pursuit; it has been their lives for nearly four decades. They wait for the salt to dry for their next attempt at Bonneville in September. Chasing a world land speed record in a Hemi-powered streamliner can only be described as the ultimate ride.
Jeffrey Conger is a professor of graphic design at MSU and a regular contributor to numerous newsstand publications, including Hot Rod Magazine.
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