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Colin Braun driving Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype race car, powered by the new 3.5-liter, V-6 Ford EcoBoost race engine, to a new Daytona single lap speed record of 222.971 mph during a special record run attempt today, topping the 26-year-old speed record of 210.364 mph set by Bill Elliott in a Ford Thunderbird during qualifying for the 1987 Daytona 500.
Although it's a track record it's not a closed course record. That belongs to Super Tex, A.J. Foyt, who drove a purpose-built car to an FIA-recognized 257.123 mph at Ft. Stockton, Texas Test Center on Aug 28, 1987. The car consisted of a March Indycar single seat chassis enclosed in an extremely efficient aerodynamic body shell. It was powered by a highly turbo-charged version of the 2-litre Oldsmobile Quad 4 engine. Foyt exceed the previous record set by the Mercedes-Benz C111 effort of 251.020 mph, driven by Hans Liebold, at Nardo, Italy, in May 5, 1979.
Brazil's Gil de Ferran set a closed course record in an Indy car in an official race weekend with a lap of 241.428 mph at California Speedway (now called Auto Club Speedway) in 2000. Lyn St. James drove a NASCAR style stock car Ford Thunderbird 212.577 mph on Oct. 11, 1988 at the 2.66 mile Talladega Superspeedway.
Braun and the Michael Shank Racing team also set new world speed records for 10 miles from a standing start (210.018 mph average), and 10 kilometers from a standing start (202.438 mph average). All times from today's session are subject to Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) homologation.
Braun, at 25 years of age, wasn't even born when Elliott set the previous speed record. But he knows the significance of what was accomplished during today's speed trials.
“It was a challenging day,” said Braun afterward. “There was a lot of work put in by a lot of people to accomplish these records. The power in the new EcoBoost engine was incredible, and it was amazing how fast it came up to speed on the runs.
“Our first run this morning was 209 mph, and it was an edgy drive at that speed. I can only imagine how edgy it was for Bill Elliott doing those speeds in his Thunderbird stock car. But our crew kept working and adjusting on it, and it was a great feeling coming down pit road after the record runs and seeing how happy everyone was.”
The new Ford EcoBoost engine was prepared for the record run by Ford Racing engine partner Roush Yates Engines, and Continental Tires did a special tire for the run that was lighter and had less rolling resistance than the standard race tire, along with a harder compound than the tire used for a typical road course race.
Both the new car and new twin-turbo engine will compete in the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship that kicks off with the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January.
Although it's a track record it's not a closed course record. That belongs to Super Tex, A.J. Foyt, who drove a purpose-built car to an FIA-recognized 257.123 mph at Ft. Stockton, Texas Test Center on Aug 28, 1987. The car consisted of a March Indycar single seat chassis enclosed in an extremely efficient aerodynamic body shell. It was powered by a highly turbo-charged version of the 2-litre Oldsmobile Quad 4 engine. Foyt exceed the previous record set by the Mercedes-Benz C111 effort of 251.020 mph, driven by Hans Liebold, at Nardo, Italy, in May 5, 1979.
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| Photo: Ford |
Brazil's Gil de Ferran set a closed course record in an Indy car in an official race weekend with a lap of 241.428 mph at California Speedway (now called Auto Club Speedway) in 2000. Lyn St. James drove a NASCAR style stock car Ford Thunderbird 212.577 mph on Oct. 11, 1988 at the 2.66 mile Talladega Superspeedway.
Braun and the Michael Shank Racing team also set new world speed records for 10 miles from a standing start (210.018 mph average), and 10 kilometers from a standing start (202.438 mph average). All times from today's session are subject to Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) homologation.
Braun, at 25 years of age, wasn't even born when Elliott set the previous speed record. But he knows the significance of what was accomplished during today's speed trials.
“It was a challenging day,” said Braun afterward. “There was a lot of work put in by a lot of people to accomplish these records. The power in the new EcoBoost engine was incredible, and it was amazing how fast it came up to speed on the runs.
“Our first run this morning was 209 mph, and it was an edgy drive at that speed. I can only imagine how edgy it was for Bill Elliott doing those speeds in his Thunderbird stock car. But our crew kept working and adjusting on it, and it was a great feeling coming down pit road after the record runs and seeing how happy everyone was.”
The new Ford EcoBoost engine was prepared for the record run by Ford Racing engine partner Roush Yates Engines, and Continental Tires did a special tire for the run that was lighter and had less rolling resistance than the standard race tire, along with a harder compound than the tire used for a typical road course race.
Both the new car and new twin-turbo engine will compete in the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship that kicks off with the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January.