BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS — First thing you should know about the man who set a land speed record in the the XO Gas Modified Roadster category Sunday is that he keeps his car parked in his living room. Seriously.
The second thing you should know is he had a heart attack the same day and wound up in a Salt Lake hospital. But not until after he set the record.
First things first.
Russell Meeks lives in the Milwaukie, Ore., home where his fastidious mother used to vacuum the ceilings and corners for cobwebs. Good thing for Russell she's no longer around. After inheriting the house, he tore out the picture window, installed an extra wide door, tossed down a tarp and parked his 23T Ford Roadster inside.
"It's there in the living room beside the piano, an organ and the mohair furniture," says his son, Cedric.
Some people flop on the couch and watch television to relax. Meeks, 62, works on his car, sometimes for 18 straight hours. You might say it's his obsession. The two days he spent at LDS Hospital having two stents inserted was the longest separation he and his car have had since he started building it 37 years ago.
"It's not about money," says Meeks, whose record-breaking speed was 160 mph. "It's about the passion."
At dinner on the way to Utah for Speed Week, a colleague wondered aloud how many people get the chance to build a hot rod and then race it. Good question. Better yet, how many actually care?
"It doesn't mean anything to anybody but us," Meeks says agreeably. "We're the fastest gasoline-powered Ford roadster in the world."
So there.
"This is the pinnacle of it all," he continues, a distant look crossing his face. "To put the pedal to the floor for five miles, flat-out . . . "
Meeks' journey to a world record began as a youth. He was always working around cars. When he was 16 he decided he would build and race his own car one day. Not coincidentally, his dream car was a 23T Ford Roadster. The 1952 GMC engine was always his favorite, too, so he knew he would eventually join them into a world-class racing vehicle. He just didn't know it would take him over three decades.
He assembled the car as the years passed, piece by loving piece. Building custom hot rods isn't cheap or quick. Finally in 1998 it was complete. That was the first time he visited Bonneville Salt Flats. He could have gone earlier but didn't want to until he could bring his dream machine along, too.
Cedric set the record in 1999, driving the car at 138 mph. Meeks' daughter, Jacquie, broke that record in 2000, going 146 mph. A Texas team upped the stakes two days later, going 151. Meeks himself smashed that mark on Sunday morning.
Curiously, it wasn't the rush of adrenaline that sent him to Salt Lake in a Life Flight chopper. He had been feeling occasionally uncomfortable for two or three months. But on his record run, he felt no pain. Late Sunday afternoon, several hours after his race, his chest and left arm began to ache and he lost strength. He had been lifting equipment throughout the afternoon, which may have triggered the response.
Fortunately for Meeks, there was a pair of EMT's only a few feet from the pit where his car was parked. They drove him to Knolls in an ambulance, where he was met by the helicopter.
He learned at LDS Hospital that he had two plugged arteries; by Wednesday morning was back at the track. He spent the rest of the week happily watching other racers.
Meeks and his entourage of family members and friends left town Thursday. Back in Oregon they'll take the roadster apart, make a few adjustments and get ready for next year.
Does he actually plan to return?
"Oh, you bet," he says. "You couldn't keep me away."
It's a matter of the heart.
E-mail: rock@desnews.com