MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – Driver Tommy Hurley calmly went through the gears of a car built by Joey Arrington of Martinsville until the car hit a new world speed record of 253 mph, breaking the old record of 244 mph set in 2007.
The old record was set on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah -- this record happened on a landing strip long used by the space shuttle in Florida.
“Speed is the greatest drug,” Joey Arrington said. “I’m addicted.”
Tommy Hurley, who was back at work at Hurley’s Auto Sales the next day, said he was selected as the driver only three days before the attempt.
“I had never been over 165 mph, before, Hurley said.
Asked about how it felt to go 244, he said it was “smooth.”
Arrington built the car, a 1969 Dodge Daytona Charger with a Dodge engine in his shop, Speedway Service Center in Martinsville. Fan might recognize the car as the same type Richard Petty drove during his NASCAR career.
“It’s the coolest car that’s ever been. The most iconic car ever to come out of Detroit, Arrington said.
Arrington said the car developed just over 1,000 horsepower.
He knows a thing or two over building engines that go fast, having also built the one that held the previous record.
“I get cold chills. My hair stands on end. It’s like being a rock concert,” he said. “It puts you on the straight and narrow every day.”
Arrington said you can’t accomplish this kind of feat working at a computer.
“You have to work at it. Cut your fingers. Get slivers of steel in your fingers,” he said.
He said the car will be on display at the IHRA season opener in St. Pete, Florida over the weekend, but he expected it would be back in Virginia, next week. It will be stored at his shop when “It’s not on tour.”