Craig Breedlove completed his second successful qualifying run with a few minor glitches Sunday, but remained poised to try to return the world land speed record to the United States.
Breedlove planned to make one more test run in his jet-engine powered "Spirit of America" early this morning before making his bid to reclaim the land speed record from Britain's Richard Noble.With winter closing in on northern Nevada's Black Rock Desert 100 miles north of Reno, Breedlove and his crew said if all goes well, he would challenge the speed record on Monday.
On Sunday, he completed the second of two required qualifying runs with an average speed of 563 mph. He clocked 448 in his first qualifying run on Wednesday before a storm front delayed further runs until Sunday.
"It was fine and about what we expected speed wise," Breedlove said. "The car is working fine and it handles very well. I feel very confident and have been waiting for this for day for 30 years."
A problem with the car's parachute system did minor damage to the front end, but Breedlove and his crew said they believed they would have the problem solved before daybreak.
"It caused the car to veer sharply to the right, and caused the front right end to dig into the desert floor," Breedlove said.
"The problem with the chute would be that much more serious at a faster speed, but we think we have a solution," said Bill Breedlove, Craig's cousin and operations manager.
Another concern is with the driver's oxygen supply, but that, too, should be worked out by Monday, Bill Breedlove said.
"We're only 60 or 70 mph away from the world record after today's run, and I'm very optimistic we can break the record tomorrow," he said. "I'm confident in Craig's ability and in the car he designed. This car shows all the potential in the world."
The 59-year-old Breedlove holds five world land speed records, and is trying to better the 633 set by Noble in the Black Rock Desert 13 years ago this month.
His previous record runs were made on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats, where he became the first person to break 400, 500 and 600. A lack of running room this year sent him to Nevada in his quest.
And he has competition. A half a world away, in the desert south of Amman, Jordan, Noble and crew also are preparing to shatter the record in his "Thrust SSC."
The "Thrust SSC" arrived Saturday in Jordan, and a record attempt is planned there by mid-November.