North American Eagle Poised to Bring World Land Speed Record Back to U.S.

• SEE ALSO: ALL LAND SPEED RECORD ARTICLES

TACOMA, Wash., November 7, 2008: There's a healthy rivalry brewing between the U.S. and U.K. over the world land speed racing record. The Brits took if from the U.S. in 1997, and now the U.S. wants it back.

In 1904, none other than Henry Ford himself drove 91.37mph to capture the World Land Speed Record title. Today the record stands at just over 763mph, captured by the British on October 15th 1997 with the ThrustSSC jet powered car.

Now, an American/Canadian team in Washington State has a 50,000hp converted F-104 jet car ready to travel over 800 mph to bring the record back to the U.S.

"I'm in discussions with the Edwards Air Force base to conduct midrange test runs early next year on Rogers Dry Lake (where the Budweiser Rocket Car drove 739mph 1979)," said Ed Shadle, owner/driver of the North American Eagle. "Once the midrange testing (up to 600 MPH) is complete, we'll be poised to go for the record whenever the weather conditions are optimal at Black Rock, Nevada or another undisclosed location." Shadle is also evaluating a location near the area Steve Fossett was scouting before his untimely death.

Interest in the sport of World Land Speed Racing has recently been sparked with the announcement that current record holder, Andy Green, was teaming up with Richard Noble, the previous record-holder, to have another go at the record.

In an interview with the Seattle Weekly earlier this year Green stated: "I am a big supporter of the current and planned attempts on the World Land Speed Record -- 11 years is more than long enough for it to stand and it's high time that someone got out there and broke it again -- preferably several times."

Green continued: "I'm really looking forward to seeing the Eagle run again. This is an amazing sport and there aren't many people out there with the determination and skill to take it on. Let's hope it's not too long before we see a new record, hopefully starting with the number '8' (800 mph). I will certainly be cheering them on from over here."

The only thing stopping a hale and hearty U.S. and U.K. rivalry is lack of sponsorship money to fund the effort.

"World Land Speed Record Racing is an expensive sport," stated Douglas Schwartz, Media Director for the team. "The North American Eagle has the power and the aerodynamics to break the record in 2009."