Dirty Weekend: SCTA El Mirage Season Opener
May 2022 • By Tony Thacker Presented by MicksPaint.com, RatTrapracing.com & USAutomotive.co.uk
18 land speed records fall at El Mirage Season Opener when Arley Langlo set top speed of the meet at 303.832 mph.
The course is only 1.3 miles long and there’s only one mile in which to stop so attaining speeds in excess of 300 mph and stopping is quite an achievement especially when the surface is dusty clay and silt and not measurably sticky asphalt.
Nevertheless, over the weekend of May 14-15, Arley Langlo went 303.832 mph. That’s a big deal made all the bigger when you know Arley is 80-years old. While several have been close—in the high 200s—only a handful has gone 300—it’s a mean achievement.
Enter Brit Geoff Stilwell who only came to land speed racing in 2016 when Ron and Brian Hope invited him to the Bonneville Speed Week and let him drive their 1985 4WD Dodge Daytona. Although he had raced motorcycles some years ago, Geoff had never been in a land speed car but he was quickly hooked and purchased the Kuhl, Olson & Bowman Roadster. In 2018, Geoff powered the 500 ci Keith Black Hemi-powered rear-engine ’27 Ford Roadster to a new A/Blown Fuel Rear-engine Modified Roadster record of 258.679 mph. A record that still stands.
Brit Geoff Stilwell and his A/Blown Fuel Rear-engine Modified Roadster built by the team at Mick’s Paint.
Unfortunately, Geoff did not get the coveted ‘red hat’ that is the only reward in land speed racing—beyond personal satisfaction—for setting records. The minimum speed for entry in the Bonneville 200 MPH Club in Geoff’s class is 290 mph—go figure.
Since the 2018 record runs, Geoff’s 7707 has been completely rebuilt by the team at Mick’s Paint, Pomona, CA. A new, longer chassis was built to accept a new 496 ci Brad Anderson-based hemi built by John Beck of Vintage Hot Rod & Design & Fabrication, Chico, CA. The 5,000 hp engine features Bill Miller pistons and rods, a Blower Shop 14-71 supercharger and Enderle injector with MSD ignition and Racepak data acquisition. The transmission is a B&J 2-speed and the rear end a Winters quick-change.
As Geoff had never raced El Mo before, he made licensing passes at the November 2021 event and returned in May to continue the process of testing for Speed Week. To achieve his ‘A’ license Geoff ran 200.18 mph on his first run making a perfect pass. Unfortunately, no second run could be made on Saturday and Sunday’s run was clocked at 215, however, the Racepak data indicated a GPS speed of 224. Either way, the run was right on target for this test session. Next, it was back to Mick’s Paint to apply what was learned testing to make ready for Bonneville Speed Week, Aug. 6-12, 2022.
Besides all the wild and crazy race cars which are the beauty of land speed racing, the spectators also tend to turn up in an eclectic and even electric mix of contraptions. For example, Richard Walsh was there in his electric Model T Ford. In fact, it was more a General Electric Model T Ford as Richard assembled it from a combination Model T and General Electric refrigerator parts. Also, two guys flew in in a home-made Van RV airplane—it’s legal to land on the lakebed.
If you’ve never been land speed racing then put in on your bucket list—it’s an experience.
El Mirage Dry Lake, the spiritual home of American land speed racing, is located about 100 miles north east of Los Angeles. People first raced on the nearby Muroc Lake but when World War II broke out the Army Air Corps closed the Muroc Bombing and Gunnery Range to the racers who were forced east to El Mirage. Approximately six miles long at an altitude of 2,840 feet, ‘El Mo’s hard packed and flat surface is God’s own racetrack.
For full results and future dates go to: https://scta-bni.org/el-mirage-race-results
Fast fact:
In August 1977 stunt woman Kitty O’Neil ran the quarter mile at El Mo in 3.22 seconds at a speed of 412 mph and is still considered the fastest woman to ever run at El mirage.
Donny Cummins sweeping up after the event—gotta keep the lakebed clean.
