El Mirage 2026 Season Opener
May 2026 • By Tony Thacker • Photos by Kev Elliott, Tony Thacker & Alan Zusman
Presented by FirsUpApparel.com & MicksPaint.com27 land speed records fall at El Mirage 2026 Season Opener • Geoff Stilwell sets top speed of the meet at 242 mph.
Hot rodders have been racing the dry lakes of southern California’s Mojave Desert for more than 100 years. First at Muroc, now Edwards Air Force Base, and since that was closed to racing at El Mirage near Adelanto. The course is just 1.3 miles long and there’s only one mile in which to stop so attaining speeds in excess of 200 mph and stopping is quite an achievement especially when the surface is dusty clay and silt and not measurably sticky asphalt.
Fastest Speed of the Meet
Racers come from all over the world to compete on this hallowed ground. All the way from England was Geoff Stilwell who set a Bonneville record at 289.239 in his Red Line Oil Land Speed Racing A/Blown Modified Rear Engine Roadster in 2025 and gained the elusive red hat. Over the winter his ’27 roadster’s 496 ci Brad Anderson Hemi (BAE) was rebuilt by Nick Davies and Rob Loaring of ICE Automotive assisted in the U.S. by Scott Campbell. Special thanks to BAE for all the cylinder head work. The car was also fitted with new zoomie headers by Rick Lefever and new Schott wheels fitted with Dunlop tires shaved and balanced by Nate Jones Tires. Geoff achieved top speed of the meet with a speed of 242.043 mph.
The Long Distance Runners
Two teams came from Sweden: Regular Håkan Karlen driving his B/CGALT 5-window ‘32 Ford coupe (200.912 mph), and Tommy Klasson driving the E/Diesel Streamliner ‘SnowBird’ powered by a Mercedes diesel (143.066 mph). Also, from Scandinavia but living in the U.S. is Erik Hanson and Ruth Lundring with their Blown Fuel Modified Roadster (178.860 mph).
The Record Setters
Of the 27 records broken one of the closest was set by Wayne Yurtin who bumped the B/Gas Modified Touring record to 206.684 mph in the C2 Restorations/The Garage Shop ‘65 Corvette’. Also making a strong entry in the record books was Ron Cooper who pushed the XF/BVGC record from 135 to a staggering 150.146 mph in a flathead-powered ‘39 Ford Standard coupe. Meanwhile, Carl Rothe driving the Aardema Braun Fuel Lakester lost some rear body panels but still managed a class record at 230.776 mph. The tough luck award went to Danny Thompson driving The Ferguson Streamliner who went 218.941 on a 219.406 record—so close but not close enough.
Over in the two-wheel corner, Leslie ‘Honey‘ Hoogerhyde completed a five-year quest to run over 200, set a record, and gain entry into the El Mirage ‘Dirty Two Club’ with a 1000CC / MPS-F record of 201.942 mph. Top speed of the meet for a motorcycle was 234.563 mph set by Pat Womack on the Womack Noonan Racing entry.
WAIT, THERE’S MORE…
https://scta-bni.org/el-mirage-vintage-drags
First time ever, the chance to drag race your vintage flathead 4 or V8 on the hallowed ground of El Mirage Dry lake.
The next SCTA event at El Mirage is June 13-14 but check out their web site listed below for more information.
In all, 27 records were broken.
If you’ve never been land speed racing then put in on your bucket list—it’s an experience.
For full results and future dates go to: https://scta-bni.org/el-mirage-race-results
For more info about First Up Apparel fo to https://FirstUpApparel.com
For more about I.C.E. Automotive go to: https://iceautomotive.co.uk
For more about Mick’s Paint go to: https://www.mickspaint.com
For more about Vintage Drags to to: https://scta-bni.org/el-mirage-vintage-drags
Sad to say, our good friend Corey Severa of the Texas Hot Rod Hoodlums passed when their roadster rolled. RIP Corey.
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.
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.
