There are two kinds of top speeds - those that happen in under four seconds and 1,000 feet, and those that are drawn out over the course of a standing mile. The debate over which is more impressive could rage on endlessly. But when it comes to racing, drag strips are prevalent than the two plus miles required for a top speed run. So any event that offers racers a legit place to test their top speed is something to get excited about.
Last month, Milemarker1.com partnered with Diablosport to bring a top speed standing mile test to South Florida, the first event of its kind in the area.
Max Wyman, Director of Marketing at Diablosport, explained why this event was such a big deal (and why it turned out to be such a huge success). “I’ve never been to an event like this, but seeing cars like the Corvette ZR-1 flying past at 200 mph is impressive,” Wyman says. “Racers get a mile from a standstill to reach their top speed, and for safety reasons they have a mile to slow down.”
Finding two miles of paved open space is no small challenge, which is why most challenges of this type happen in desolate regions like the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Thus, they took to the Dad Collier Training and Transition Airport, 36 miles west of Miami. This puts it square in the middle of the Everglades, and it was originally slated to be the largest airport in the world when it was built in 1968. But environmental concerns halted the project after the first of its six planned runways were built, and now it serves as an aviation training center instead.
Pictures: Max Wyman and Andrew Litch
The October 11th event saw racers come from across the country, representing vehicles from across the world. Among the attendees were the aforementioned Corvette ZR-1, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, plenty of Porsches, Infiniti G35s, Nissan GT-Rs, a 194 mph Celica GT4 and even a 1968 Camaro with a forged and blown LS7. “We saw a lot of Dodge Hemi’s running Diablosport tuning equipment, and there was even a Jeep SRT8 there”, says Wyman. The event cost spectators $20, and participants who registered early paid $150. They limited registration to just 120 cars, “Those spots filled up within weeks,” Wyman mentioned. ““We limited the registration to ensure everyone got multiple runs.”
“There isn’t a lot of grassroots racing in South Florida,” he continues. The event was open to any street legal car with a VIN number (kit cars included), although most of the cars that came tended to be of the high end variety. So what car came across with the top speed of the day? Bragging rights belong to a twin turbocharged Ford GT, which went at (or near) 220 mph. But it was a hot day, according to Max, which no doubt had an effect on performance of these high powered machines. Besides, another event is scheduled for the same place on January 3rd, a great way to start a new year. There are already 33 spots taken up, including several Corvettes, Supras, and a twin turbocharged Jeep SRT8.
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