August 2026 • By  Nestor Cabrera, Howard Holmes & Tony Thacker
Presented by FirstUpApparel.com & MicksPaint.com

69 records broken, nine drivers ran over 300 mph—the 78th running of the annual Bonneville Speed Week was fast and furious but for all that an odd one. Temps, like the rest of the world, were high—113F (45C) on the start line where racers waited eight hours or more for a run. The salt appeared about ¼ of an inch thick and was as thin as I have ever seen it. Entries were lower than usual at around 240—down from the highs of 500 or more in the mid 2000s, and the Nugget car show which is usually a highlight was moved and failed.

*Danny Thompson set top speed of the meet and took home the* Hot Rod Magazine trophy with a blistering run of 396.949 mph in the Don Ferguson Racing A/Fuel Streamliner. Photo Howard Holmes.

Some but not all of the 300+ mph cars.

Despite the tough conditions that are nothing unusual for Bonneville where you can get all four seasons in a day, there were some amazing achievements. For example, Danny Thompson’s 406.249 exit speed in the Don Ferguson Racing Streamliner that took the HOT ROD Magazine Trophy, and 86-year-old Gary Matranga, president of Sherm's Custom Plating who finally got his 300-mph ‘blue hat’ after several 300 mph runs that he was unable to back up. Gary set a new Blown Gas Competition Coupe record at 307.924 in his long-nose, 2,400 hp Barracuda #1651.

Foreigners made the pilgrimage in good numbers both to spectate and to participate. Brit Geoff Stilwell, was there with the 7707 Red Line Oil Land Speed Roadster and ran a strong 282 mph out of the box. Harry Hunt was there in a 1st Gen Dodge Stealth and went 216.234, Bill Cleyndert was there in his Modified Roadster and went 233.080. Also, Neil Campbell was there the week before on a slipstream bicycle—he’ll be back..

Brits & Kiwis

Brit Tim Boyle, his son Ryan, and Kiwi Rob Murphy of Salty Box Racing cleaned house in the diesel streamliner class. In 2024, ‘Big’ Tim from Newcastle set the C/DS record at 315.570. In 2025, crew chief Adam Rogers bumped it to 317 mph, and in 2026 Tim’s 25-year-old son Ryan pushed the record to 328.285 with an exit speed of 338.874 mph for his blue hat. Meanwhile, Kiwi Rob Murphy set the D/DS record at 254.549 for his red hat.

Despite a 282 out-of-the-box, Brit Geoff Stilwell had a tough time of it before a quick change gear failure put him back in the box.

Bill Clyendert, all the way for Norfolk, England, topped out at 233.080 with some engine problems. Nice push truck.

Renowned Brit rally driver Harry Hunt managed a best of 216.234 in the B/GMS 1st Gen Dodge Stealth.

Brit Neil Campbell is the Guinness World Record holder for the fastest man on a slipstream bicycle—175.89 mph (283.06 kph). He’s coming back to push the record to 200. Photo Anthony Brown.

JCB Hydromax

The big news, of course, was the arrival of the JCB Hydromax with Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, the World’s fastest man (763 mph (1,228 km/h), driving. Like their previous 350 mph Dieselmax effort in 2006, the Hydromax was top shelf and within a few shakedown runs Andy had pushed the hydrogen-powered streamliner to 368.347 mph. The JCB team of 45 stayed on the salt to establish an FIA World record of 406.320 mph (653.909 kph). Andy averaged 400.623 mph on the first run and 412.135 mph on the return run within a 60-minute turn-around window making it the fastest hydrogen-powered vehicle in history.

The other entry from New Zealand was C/Blown Fuel Competition Coupe ‘The Kiwi Coupe’. Driver Chris Barnes who for health reason can’t drive anymore but nevertheless went 189.217 mph. Custodianship has passed to Llew Gray and his team. Llew took the car to 224 mph.

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