Land speed records are as dangerous as they are exhilarating, and to witness this, just check out a recent run by George Poteet at an event at the Bonneville Salt Flats called Mike Cook's Bonneville Shootout. Video captured by ARP and Speed Demon show the incredible speeds these cars are capable of as well as how equally fast things can go wrong.
The video starts with the car being pushed up to rolling speed, and it took less than a minute for Poteet to get up to a top speed of around 370 miles per hour (595 km/h) before losing control of his car. In the blink of an eye, a small wobble (and possibly a wind gust) cause the car to completely lose control, and the digital speedometer shows that he actually made it to 373 mph (600 km/h) as all hell broke loose.
Just as fast as it all began, Poteet’s car was lying on its side sans canopy and rescue personnel arrive on the scene. Even as the car was in the midst of its horrific crash, rescue workers headed toward the crash site, and it took less than 30 seconds for them to start removing the driver from the car. It’s unclear as to whether Poteet suffered any major injuries, but you can definitely see him moving around after the crash and responding to the first responders.
In total, it took just one minute and 18 seconds for the car to accelerate to its top speed and then skid, tumble and roll its way to a complete stop. While the forward-mounted camera is obscured for most of the crash, the rear camera gives a clear view of the wild ride that Poteet was subjected to. Check out both videos in unison for an even scarier idea of just what took place.
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