Thursday 15th October 1964

While trying to set a new one mile land-speed record, Craig Breedlove inadvertently set another kind of record after he lost control of the Spirit of America jet-powered car on the Bonneville Salt Flats testing area in Utah, US. The vehicle began a skid moments into the run, taking nearly six miles to decelerate from an initial speed of well over 400 mph. When the dust cleared, Breedlove emerged shaken from the vehicle as the not-so-proud record-holder for the longest skid marks ever recorded. Nevertheless, Breedlove, who already held the land-speed record, did manage to break the 500mph speed barrier that year, just as he had broken the 400 mph barrier the year before, and just as he would surpass 600mph in the year following.