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[h=2]LSR: Changes to Challenger 2 for Speed Week[/h] Monday, 18 July 2016



Danny Thompson / Images by Holly Martin Danny Thompson's goal of achieving a new Land Speed Record for piston-driven vehicles continues with Challenger 2. The car originally built by Danny's father, the late Mickey Thompson, in 1968 had been set aside but never forgotten, and was restored for a new run for the LSR on the Bonneville Salt Flats by his son and his small band of craftsmen. The Challenger 2 team has been thwarted by weather issues the past two years, but its quest is set to continue at Bonneville's "Speed Weeks" next month. Here's an update from Danny on improvements made to the car for this year's runs. -Ed.



Economists, in case you haven't noticed, tend to get things wrong a lot. Anticipating this, they like to end their formulations with a particular latin phrase – ceteris paribus – that basically says, "Hey, if this thing doesn't work out, my numbers weren't wrong, the world was wrong." The literal translation, roughly speaking, is "all else unchanged," and it's actually a great way to go about building a fast racecar.
If you only make one change in-between runs, it's easy to isolate the precise effects of that change. By taking this slow and steady approach, you're able to avoid the classic mistake of fixing something that isn't broken, and you don't end up with the racing equivalent of New Coke.
But, here's the thing: We've been rained out for two years in a row, and we've had a lot of extra time on our hands. So we ended up making five major changes and some other minor ones. Is this the most conservative approach? Absolutely not. But what can I say? No one has ever accused me of behaving like an economist. Here's the rundown on what's different for the Challenger 2 in 2016:
Clutch Package
This was the only mandatory change. The original clutch layout didn't allow for enough free-play travel in the candlesticks. Each run caused them to wear slightly, which eventually resulted in the blowout we experienced on our 419mph back-up pass. If you're trying to picture the problem, imagine only letting the clutch of a road car halfway out while slamming your other foot down hard on the accelerator. You'll definitely go forward, but there's going to be a lot of heat, and probably a burnout. We fixed the problem by repeatedly re-machining the original parts, eventually removing a total of 0.625 thousandths of material. This increased clearance should prevent component rub going forward.
Gear Ratios
Unlike a lot of the other cars that race Bonneville, the Challenger 2 runs dry blocks. Their optimal power band is somewhere between 5300-5600rpm. Last year, when we exited the final speed trap at 424mph, our computers measured both engines at closer to 4700rpm. We've modified the gear ratios in order to boost this number. This should result in faster overall acceleration, which is absolutely essential on a fixed length course, because we only have so long to get up to our maximum speed.
The Shocks
We didn't experience any problems with excessive lift last year, but it remains my biggest safety concern. The Challenger 2's shocks are custom made for us by King, and we worked with them to change the rebound control to keep the front end sucked down as much as possible. This was more of a fine-tune, but it also gave me a chance to add a blow-over light to the cockpit. What's that? A potentiometer monitors the position of the shocks and tells our RacePak data systems what changes are occurring to the car in terms of ride height in real time. If that number increases past a certain threshold while the car is going over 300mph, a bright red light on the dash will start flashing, letting me know to cut the engines (and hang on).
Bodywork
It's hard to see unless you know where to look, but the Challenger 2 now has wings. Or winglets at least. We're talking inches rather than feet. Two small front canards, one of either side of the nose, should provide additional downforce to the front of the car.
For the rear, we've added an undertray. This will create a zone of negative pressure, helping to evacuate mixed-up air from the sides of the car. Why is that necessary? The exhaust from our headers is confusing the airflow in that area a bit more than our aerodynamicist, Tim Gibson, would like. This should address the problem.
Finally, we added some reverse louvers to the bodywork in order to expel more of the internal heat generated by the engines. It was getting pretty warm in there, and we didn't want to risk damage to the electronics.
Fuel
We increased the percentage of nitromethane in the blend being fed to the engines by 5%. That means we're now running 80%. Vroom vroom.
That's where things currently stand in terms of the car as we pack up for Speed Week. There are some other changes of course, including replacement of all the decals with hand-lettered artwork from Dennis Jones. Listed below this post you'll find the scheduled dates for the Bonneville season. We'll share more here as we get closer, but in the meantime you can follow us on basically all forms of social media with our crew handle, thompsonlsr.
2016 Bonneville Dates:

• SCTA Speed Week, Aug. 13-19
• USFRA World of Speed, Sept. 10-13
• Mike Cook's Shootout, Sept. 15-20
• SCTA World Finals, Sept. 27-30

senor honda

LSR VIDEO: Thompson breaks record for hot rods

Sunday, 14 August 2016 RACER Staff / Image by Holly Martin
Danny Thompson, the 66-year-old son of the late Mickey Thompson, has broken the current AA/FS class land speed record after a 402mph run Sunday on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Challenger II; the car was originally built by his father in 1968 and has been restored for a new run for the LSR by the younger Thompson and a small group of craftsmen.

Starting the engines:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soA-XH89lAw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a8vwyNo5gQ

Thompson blew past the 392.503mph record set by Charlie Nearburg in the "Spirit of Rett" in 2009.

"I'm in the 400 club. I like it," Thompson told CNN.

His official average time was 406.7mph, CNN reports - slightly higher than the 406.60mph his father rain in 1960.

Thompson qualified by making a 411mph run on Saturday. The Southern California Timing Association, Speedweek’s sanctioning body, only grants two-way records; all speeds have to be achieved twice, on subsequent days with no runs in-between, in order to count.



The record was unreachable over the past two years because of bad weather. In 2014, the twin dry block nitro-fueled Hemi V8 powered, all-wheel-drive, 4000hp Challenger II qualified for the AA/Fuel Streamliner record by averaging 419mph during the final mile, but a second run to back up the record was cut short by a clutch failure, and deteriorating weather forced the cancellation of Bonneville's World Finals, ending LSR attempts for the year. Rain – or mud, specifically – wiped out the event in 2015.

senor honda

History of Mickey Thompson Bonneville
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mngq4uZlFXQ
see also post #4 in this very thread

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Mickey Thompson racing legends video history is here:
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/g...g-legends.html
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Danny Thompson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZDy4gL4wjk
Danny Thompson attempts to break the 420 mph world land speed record . . . with his father, Mickey Thompson's, Challenger II built in 1968. It's being built up to modern specs and go 420+.

Danny Thompson Review: Reflects on his goals and accomplishment with his streamliner "Challenger 2" at the 2014 Speed Week in Bonneville.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NeHZnberW4


Mission - Destiny



George Tamayo

In today's media-fueled world of hyperbole, the overuse of certain words has had the effect of rendering them somewhat redundant. "Passionate" and "obsessed" are surely near the top of the list. For "passionate collector," read someone who simply takes their hobby half-seriously.
But spending five minutes with Danny Thompson is to understand what it means to be truly passionate and obsessed.
"For the last seven years, this is all I've focused on and thought about. I spent a little time watching the Olympics, because those athletes are the greatest in their sport," says Thompson the Monday after the Rio Games drew to a close. "But for 12 hours a day, seven days a week, this is all I do. I did take part of Thanksgiving and Christmas Day off."
What Thompson is so obsessed and passionate about is breaking the class land speed record in Challenger 2, a car built by his father, the legendary Mickey Thompson. On Sept. 16, 2016, at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats, Thompson was set to attempt to finish what began in 1960 – to break the record in a wheel-driven, normally-aspirated car. The benchmark currently stands at 414.477mph, set by Charles E. Nearburg at the wheel of the Spirit of Rett, Sept. 21, 2010.
This August, Thompson recorded an average of 406.7mph over two runs. He knows he's within touching distance.
Thompson is now 66 years old. His silver hair is shorn tight. He has strong hands, leathery skin and his favorite word has four letters, rhyming with puck. Son Travis constantly reminds him that he can't say it during interviews, but when finished, Thompson gleefully declares, "I made it through without saying 'f***.'"
He says he lives in constant pain, the result of severe arthritis in his knees and hips earned from years of riding motocross, but won't take any medication, claiming it would just make him "dumber."
What is most striking about Thompson are his almond-shaped eyes. They're darting and alert, yet can soften to a doe-like expression, revealing his true sincerity. To get to this point, he's been forced to sell all of the cars from his father's collection. But, as he puts it, those cars were sitting in a museum, and he had to go break a record.
He's had, by his estimation, some 3,000 sponsorship pitches declined. He's consumed every bit of help his family and friends have offered in his single-minded quest. There's a lot on the line for this moment, these few exhilarating seconds of glory and completion. Thompson hopes a successful run will aid him in recouping at least some of the small personal fortune spent, but he knows it won't make him a rich man. At least, not monetarily.
"This all started in 1987," says Thompson, "when my dad told me he wanted the record. He would finance it, and I would drive. The record would belong to the family. Until then, he'd never supported my racing."
The story could have ended there. On March 16, 1988, Mickey Thompson was gunned down, along with his second wife, in the driveway of his suburban Los Angeles home. Motorsport lost a true original that day. The elder Thompson was a pioneering racer, promoter, builder, team owner and businessman extraordinaire.
In 1960, Mickey Thompson embarked on setting a new land speed record. It was the age before jet propulsion, when the fastest cars were wheel-driven. Mickey Thompson built Challenger 1, a four-engine hot rod from junkyard parts.
The original land speed record, set in 1898 by Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat at 39.24mph, had since been reset 29 times, reaching 394.196mph by John Cobb on Sept. 16, 1947. With no formal training or backing from a major manufacturer, Mickey Thompson took Challenger 1 to 406mph. To make it official, he had to do it twice, and on the second run, Challenger 1 suffered a mechanical problem. The record still officially belonged to Cobb.
Four years later, Donald Campbell, using jet propulsion, went 403mph to set the new absolute land speed record. Because it wasn't wheel-driven, it was meaningless to Mickey Thompson. It had become obvious that the absolute land speed record would forever be the province of jet- or rocket powered vehicles, but Mickey Thompson was determined to get the wheel-driven record. Thus, he set out to build Challenger 2.

senor honda

reserved

senor honda

Jeff Brock Bonneville Buick
Jeff Brock, driving his "Bombshell Betty" 1952 Buick Super Riviera, sets a new class world-record at Bonneville in early October 2012.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olhJD6Qu9js


Blake Thompson

If they wanted to break the sound barrier, or go ludicrous speed, they not only would've chosen a different powerplant, but a different chassis as well. it was never their intent to be the fastest on the planet. the point was to take an unlikely 50+ year old engine and push its limits to see what they could accomplish. fastest is not always the best. the ability to engineer something for a purpose other than what it was intended for is what makes the world go round. i applaud these innovators, and the gear heads from generations past setting speed records with what other people called "junk." the world needs more folks like this in it.

senor honda

Tying some racing history together:
See last post in thread:
See it before it goes away.

senor honda

[h=2]Burt Munro's "World's Fastest Indian" is restored[/h]

senor honda

senor honda

Tying some racing history together
See last post in thread:
See it before it goes away.

senor honda

The Land Speed Record Cars - where are they now?

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Scarf And Goggles
Published on Sep 24, 2018



A brief overview of the cars that have held the outright World Land Speed Record (WLSR) since 1920, with details of where they are now. Note that cars that have held class records (e.g. Goldenrod - wheel-driven record) and records set outside the FIA's mandated rules (e.g. Mickey Thompson's Challenger - one-way run) are not included here, but may be covered in future videos.