Race car driver Breedlove prepares for 800-mph ride

Craig Breedlove sat it a folding camp chair at Fuji Park Saturday, autographing posters, photos and hats emblazoned "Spirit of America" in honor of the jet-powered racers that have carried him to 400, 500, 600 and nearly 700 miles an hour.

Breedlove said he expects to regain the title of "Fastest Man on Wheels" next summer when the upgraded Spirit of America carries him across the Black Rock Desert north of Reno at over 800 mph.

"We've made some changes since last time from what we learned then and I believe we can do it," Breedlove said.

Last time was October 1997, when the British Thrust team led by Richard Noble and driver Andy Green was attempting to break 700 mph and the sound barrier simultaneously with the Spirit of America team.

Breedlove's vehicle was toppled by crosswinds and its engine damaged by 'inhaled' debris. Noble's effort, well-funded by the British government and with twice the manpower on the Black Rock, captured the land speed record with two runs over 766 mph.

"According to the rules, we have to exceed that by 1 percent or 7.66 mph, but our goal is 800," Breedlove said.

Breedlove, now 63, said he never expected his pursuit of the land speed record would approach a 40-year career when his made his first record attempt in 1962.

When he climbed into the original Spirit of America on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats, the car wore the golden scallop logo of Shell Oil Co. The oil company hired a Hollywood film crew to go along and record the efforts.

One of the camera operators for filming was Herb Esterbrook. Now retired and living in Carson City, Esterbrook came to Fuji Park Saturday and brought along a photo album from the runs.

"Well, look at that," Breedlove said as he checked out the photos. Besides showing the jet car and the tracks it carved in the salt of the flats, the album also showed the power poles Breedlove clipped off in the final 1964 attempt that set the record at 526.277 mph. It was the third of his five land speed records.

Breedlove said he is seeking Bureau of Land Management approval to make his next attempts in June or July of 2001. He wants to make the run before the annual Burning Man celebration, which draws about 60,000 to the area every Labor Day weekend.

"The BLM considers October and November to be the speed run season, but imagine having to keep every one of 60,000 people away from the race course," Breedlove said. Because of the incredible speed involved, the race course has to be extremely flat and smooth, which is why salt flats have drawn the attention of speed attempt hopefuls. Before the actual runs, team members walk the course to remove all debris.

When the Spirit of America was damaged in 1997, Breedlove did not expect it would take four years to mount another attempt. But Shell's sponsorship funding had been used up and the team faced a $500,000 bill to repair the vehicle and a like amount to actually fund the next attempt.

The Spirit of America has been re-engineered and rebuilt, but the next run still needs to be financed.

"We're in negotiations with a potential major co-sponsor and may know in a few weeks. I'm pretty confidant we'll be able to go back to the Black Rock next summer," he said.

In the meantime, he said, he is marketing the endeavor through efforts like his visit to the Karson Kruzers' Run What Cha Brung and the spiritofamerica.com Web site.

"Marketing ourselves through merchandising both satisfies fans' demands and keeps our name in the public eye until the next run," he said.

Breedlove doesn't earn anything himself from the land speed runs. He said his 1970s real estate investment in developing tennis clubs in Southern California has provided an income while he chases speed records.

While he plans to be in the hot seat in the 2001 attempt, Breedlove isn't discounting the possibility someone else may be strapped into the Spirit of America next summer.

"You know, I applied for my Social Security not too long ago. I had rotator cuff surgery on my shoulder in December and it takes a year to recover from that," he said. "That doesn't leave much time to get into condition for the attempt and, at 63, I've found out it's not as easy to get into condition as it used to be.

"We're considering recruiting and training a back-up driver.

"I want and expect to be in the driver's seat. But the important thing is the record, and who's driving Spirit of America at the time isn't important except maybe to my ego."

ON THE NET

Check on the progress of Craig Breedlove's Spirit of America world land speed record attempt at:

http://www.spiritofamerica.com