An L.A. hot rodder with a high school education, a family to support and almost no money, Craig Breedlove set out in the late 1950s to do something big: harness the thrust of a jet in a car. With a growing obsession that would cost him his marriage, he started building in his dad’s garage. The car’s name: Spirit of America. Through perseverance and endless hard work, Craig completed Spirit and broke the land speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats, setting a new mark of 407 mph in 1963. In the early 1970s he turned to rockets and set an acceleration record at Bonneville that stands to this day. He built a jet car in the 1990s, Spirit of America–Sonic Arrow, to go head-to-head against Britain’s ThrustSSC to be the first to Mach One. Craig’s subsequent crash at 675 mph remains the fastest in history. Even today, at the age of 80, he is going strong with plans for yet another Spirit of America racer. The ultimate goal: 1,000 mph. Ultimate Speed is the authorized biography of Craig Breedlove, a candid revelation of one of motorsports’ most interesting figures based primarily on countless hours of interviews with Craig and dozens of people connected to his life.
