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The salt can make you or break you, and Rick White has lived on both sides of that line. From towing a $500 high school Corvette to Bonneville and setting a 151 mph record to piloting the first single-engine car beyond 400 mph, Rick’s journey blends fearless engineering, family grit, and relentless problem-solving. Growing up at Nolan White’s elbow and rooted in land speed racing, He watched his father enter the 200 MPH Club in 1963, he learned how to build speed from wood, steel, and stubborn ideas. We dig into the turning points that define land speed racing. Rick explains why he and Nolan built a rare four-wheel-drive streamliner in 1980 to fight traction loss, how blown fuel became their language, and what it took to sort a one-off machine aimed squarely at 400 mph. He breaks down the differences between SCTA and FIA records, why two-way runs collided with today’s shorter, rougher salt, and the day parachute failure on a return run took his father’s life. The conversation is raw, clear-eyed, and focused on what changed and what still drives him to innovate safely on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Then we go under the hood of Rick and his son Brad’s current project: a competition coupe built around a tiny Honda 600 body to punch the smallest hole in the air. With a 540-cubic-inch blown-fuel big block, carefully set wheelbase, and a hand-formed aluminum nose, the car is aimed at a 305 MPH class record and a blue hat. Rick shares the fix that unlocked new pace—proper tank venting for a bigger fuel pump—and how a 257 mph El Mirage record proved the direction. His years in nostalgia top fuel, including March Meet and Hot Rod Reunion wins, and how the salt taught him how to be a better drag racer. If you love Bonneville history, four-wheel-drive streamliners, FIA records, and the hard math of traction, drag, and fuel delivery, this story hits all the marks. Tap play to hear a family legacy carried forward with craft, courage, and an unwavering eye on the next mile marker. If this conversation moved you, subscribe, share it with a friend who loves fast cars, and leave a quick review—your support helps more speed fans find the show.

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A $125 turbo, a rulebook, and a pile of blown parts shouldn’t add up to a Bonneville 200 MPH Club record—unless you’re Ross Powers. We sit down with Ross to chart his path from slow-but-stubborn drag passes on a Harley Sportster to a J-Class Lakester and a one-liter combo that set a 255 MPH record. The story is equal parts grit and guidance: mentors who open doors, a culture that treats records as borrowed trophies, and a set of principles that turn budget builds into bulletproof runs. Ross breaks down the physics that matter on salt—why suspension beats rigidity, where to add weight so the tires stay loaded, and how “real redline” is the point where power fades, not a number on a dial. He shares the pivot from fragile five-mile motors to durable 30-mile engines, the discipline of keeping a rookie pass under 200 in a car that wants to sprint in first, and the aerodynamic truth that lets small displacement punch far above its weight. If you’ve wondered how a tiny J Blown Fuel Lakester can deliver big speeds, this is your field guide. We also talk about the heart of land speed racing: rebuilding after crashes, honoring friends like John Boy, and inviting new people to trade spectating for staging lanes. From 130 and 150 clubs to smarter classes and better storytelling, Ross lays out practical ways to grow the sport without losing its soul. Along the way come the pit stories—dumpster fairings, rattle-can paint names, and the kind of gallows humor that makes week-long meets feel like family. Subscribe for more Land Speed Legends, share this one with a friend who loves fast problem-solving, and leave a review with your favorite takeaway. What lesson will you try on your next build?

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The salt doesn’t care about your plans, your budget, or your last name—and that’s exactly why Danny Thompson keeps coming back. From a childhood ban on racing to a 448 mph average in Challenger 2, Danny walks us through the moments that shaped him: motocross grit, off‑road savvy, open‑wheel precision, and the quiet craft of fabrication that keeps fast ideas alive.

We get into the early hooks—Mustangs on the 10‑mile circle, a red hat in a lakester, and a Mustang flight that turned seven end‑over‑ends into a lesson on composure. Then the long game: resurrecting Mickey Thompson’s 1968 streamliner with almost no money, sending thousands of sponsor pitches, and learning, run by run, what Bonneville expects from a team. The details are raw and specific, from fire bottles fogging a visor at 400 mph to the split‑second choice to throttle through a yawing 450 mph return, securing a 448 average and settling a 48‑year family benchmark.

We also celebrate the culture that makes this place different. Records are targets, not trophies; rivals call to congratulate; and a seven‑cylinder hack can topple a Vesco mark by 34 mph before an A motor goes in for the next hunt. Danny shares why he retired and sold Challenger 2 to clear debts, how Ferguson’s streamliner rekindled the chase, and where the dream points now: a three‑part Stand on the Gas series to fund and frame a shot at 500 mph in a piston‑powered Challenger 3.

If Bonneville matters to you—its history, its people, and its fragile surface—this conversation is a map of what it takes to turn legacy into action. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves fast machines, and leave a review telling us: do you think a 500 mph piston car is within reach?

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