Tommy Milton, driving a 16-cylinder Duesenberg-Milton Special at Daytona Beach, Florida established an unofficial land speed record


Tuesday 27th April 1920

Tommy Milton, driving a 16-cylinder Duesenberg-Milton Special at Daytona Beach, Florida established an unofficial land speed record. As Milton rocketed along the sand his car caught fire. Perhaps the extreme heat generated by the twin engines (especially the exhaust of the left engine) ignited fuel and oil that had pooled on the undertray. Heat and fumes traveled through the hollow steering column situated between the two engines and blew into Milton’s face. With the burns of his Uniontown fire still healing, Milton knew his situation was not a good one. He pressed on to finish the run but thought about driving the car into the ocean to extinguish the flames. Fortunately, that was not necessary. Milton and onlookers were able to put out the fire out using sand once he came to a stop at the end of the course. Milton’s speed on that run was recorded at 156.046 mph (251.131 km/h). Milton suffered burns and impaired vision and again needed time to recover. The Duesenberg LSR car was in need of repair, and the period of good weather was over. It was time to leave the beach. Because Milton’s record run was only one way, it would not be an officially recognized international record. However, the 156.046 mph (251.131 km/h) speed would stand as a United States record, and the speed would not be surpassed internationally until 1926.


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