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The SHELBY AMERICAN

Summer 2016 11

NEW RECORD !

279.9 mph

The Texas Mile is a top speed com-

petition event held in March and Oc-

tober each year, at the Chase Field

Industrial Complex in Beeville, Texas.

Cars run, one at a time, down the

mile-and-a-half course and are timed

through a standing mile on this for-

mer U.S. Navy base airfield. Over 250

sports cars, trucks, concept cars and

motorcycles compete for top speed in

130 mph, 160 mph, 190 mph and 200+

mph classes. They are, essentially,

vying for bragging rights.

The fastest car for the past few

years has been a 2006 Ford GT pre-

pared by M2K Motorsports of Fuls-

hear, Texas and driven by one of

M2K’s partners, Mark Heidaker. He

was inspired by a fellow Texan, Ray

Hoffman, who ran 222.2mph with his

yellow 2006 twin-turbo GT in 2007. At

that time the car was described, accu-

rately, as “

The fastest Ford GT on the

planet

.” Unfortunately, Hoffman per-

ished in a small plane crash outside of

Abilene, Texas in February 2014.

Heidaker started out with a goal

of 235mph. On his first Texas Mile in

2012, he ran 257.7mph and set a new

record. After that, M2K has continu-

ally pushed the record from 257.7

through, six attempts later (each one

pushing the number up a few mph), to

this year’s 279.9. M2K’s goal is

300mph and at those speeds they have

to fight for each tiny speed increment.

The transmission appears to be the

present weak link and Hoosier, which

supplies the tires, claims they have no

method of testing at those speeds.

Here’s another interesting detail:

instead of painting the car in different

liveries for subsequent attempts, they

use a vinyl wrap just like NASCAR.

M2K estimates their car’s rear-

wheel horsepower at 2,350 at 39psi

boost. All this is likely to make your

eyes glaze over because the average

enthusiast cannot fathom top fuel

dragster-style horsepower ratings.

However, here’s one take-away to

keep in mind: this car has a com-

pletely stock exterior. No wing, spoil-

ers or stabilizing fins. The factory

aerodynamics, in stock form, need no

improving. To say Ford’s designers and

engineers “got it right” is a gross un-

derstatement.

The Texas Mile is not the only

measured mile speed record. A 15,000-

foot runway at the Kennedy Space

Center on Merritt Island, Florida is

also the site of record attempts. Ford

GT owner Johnny Bohmer, owner of

Performance Power Racing in West

Palm Beach, Florida, strapped himself

into his 1,700+ horsepower GT on Oc-

tober 19, 2012 and entered the Guin-

ness Book of World Records for setting

the standing mile speed record at

283.232mph.

Bohmer was also aiming at the

magic 300mph and about a year ago

he claimed to have hit 290mph but

had to fight 25mph cross winds so the

three century mark eluded him. How-

ever, many Ford GT cognoscenti are

skeptical of Bohmer’s claim. He does

not compete in other events like the

Texas Mile or Mojave Mile. Instead he

prefers to make his runs at the

Kennedy Space Center, by himself,

with no other participants present. He

does, however, manage to get the

Guinness folks to witness his at-

tempts.

It’s only a matter of time before

the triple-century mark is crossed.

And when it is, there is always the

301mph mark, and plenty of numbers

after that. Intriguing stuff!

DUELING GT

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