I agree with John. FYI, I have worked with Johnny over the phone regarding doing some testing at NASA. And Johnny was always good to deal with. But there are just too many things that do not add up on this deal. When we do speed tests, like the one we did last week on the Texas toll road, I paid to have an independent representative from VBox USA come in to certify our speeds on GPS. And I took that a step further to make sure that the video of our runs incorporated the VBox digital speed readout during our runs. I did this as I knew that some would call BS if I didnt provide clear and irrefutable proof of our speeds.
Same deal when we operated the Houston Half Mile Shootout earlier this year. We hired the guys who run the timing lights for several open road races. They set up the distance between the lights with very precise GPS survey equipment. The distance between the lights was calibrated to within millimeters. As has been stated, if the timing lights are closer together by a few feet can result in speeds reading much higher. Events open to the public like Texas Mile etc. have the same timing light distance for all the cars running. So if a stock FGT runs 171 mph in the mile but goes out and goes 20 mph faster then everybody would be 20 mph faster.
I have no idea what Guinness does to verify that the timing lights or overall standing mile distance is correct. They probably rely on the honesty of the operators and take them at their word. I have no idea of there was an error in the equipment or operation of the system, but 283 mph in one mile is such a huge number, it would be nice to see a back-up run, independent verification from the media, in-car video of the entire run, or some other evidence that the numbers are legit. If it is a real number and run, then it is too bad that there will always be a cloud of doubt that lingers amongst the guys that Johnny was really trying to impress by going 20 mph faster than the next fastest guy.
If the numbers are not real, however they came about, then this is a very sad thing to do to the guys out there who are risking their lives, reputations and hundreds of thousands of dollars to be able to push the envelope while running real, honest and verifiable speeds that are not in dispute. Guys like Mark/Sean with the help of so many like Accufab, Shane, Kevin, etc. Also other guys like Kelly Bise who has the 263.2 mph Camaro. I am guessing that these men each spend $100k per year to run a couple of events while maintaining their cars. And that is in addition to the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to build and test their cars.
Johnny, if you are reading this, I hope you dont take it the wrong way. I have nothing against you and you have dealt straight with me and tried to help me on car testing at NASA, though we have not run there. If your record is real then please give everyone something more than a girl from Guinness handing you a framed piece of paper or a hero video with very little footage of your actual run. The best way to shut everybody up is to show up at Texas Mile or Mojave and lay down a back-up to your "283 mph" run. Or invite the other 2 guys running in the 260's to your next event and have all 3 of the fastest cars running on the same track with same conditions, timing equipment, etc. That would settle this and you would have the respect from all racers, which I think you would really like to have. Just a few thoughts to consider.
John Hennessey
Well, knowing what I know about going fast, the equation doesn't add up. 1500 HP wont get you to 283 mph unless the track faces downhill at a 45 degree angle. Ray's car and Mark's car make over 2000 hp. A stellar launch will only add a little to the top end speed as its all horsepower at that point. I would say that the half mile speed would have to be around 230+ mph to go 283 mph. Won't say that these guys didn't do it but the basic facts of horsepower versus drag and weight don't support the claim. 1500 HP could probably get you to 238-242 mph. That's all. So either they are making 2400 HP or they are very good at story telling.
John Mihovetz
Accufab Inc
