Speed Week 2008 marked the two-year anniversary of Diesel Power's first visit to Utah's Salt Flats. Our first visit to Bonneville was a memorable experience in many ways. We were witnessing the amazing landscape of the Salt for the first time, and the shear number of diesel-powered vehicles racing was impressive.
There were a dozen different diesel-powered entries competing at Speed Week in 2006-in about every imaginable class, from motorcycles to semitrucks and streamliners. The most notable streamliner, however, was the JCB Dieselmax. It came over from England to set a new diesel land speed record using two 5.0L four-cylinder engines that JCB and Ricardo developed for JCB's construction vehicles.
Another vehicle that debuted that year was the Duramax-powered streamliner owned and driven by Lynn Goodfellow. Speed Week 2006 was Lynn's first run on the Salt in almost forty years. Yet, while JCB's Dieselmax went on to set a new land speed record of 350 mph, Lynn struggled with his car to hit 221 mph. So in 2007, Lynn returned to the Salt for a rematch, and pushed his Duramax to more than 242 mph.
All New Land Speed Racer
Now lets fast-forward two years to Speed Week 2008, where the circumstances are immensely different. This year the corporate-backed JCB Dieselmax team stayed at home, and a waning economy meant there were fewer diesel race vehicles. Unlike two years ago when JCB was the center of attention, the talk of the paddock this year was about a different diesel-powered car. Yes, you guessed it; Lynn Goodfellow's team was back. And back in force with a brand-new car and much stronger effort.
Lynn's previous Duramax-powered streamliner served as a learning tool, and whet his appetite for a faster speed record. After setting the B Diesel Streamliner record in the Summer of 2007, the team had returned home to Boulder City, Nevada, to construct an all-new car-the Mormon Missile. Lynn and a small team worked around the clock for seven months to create the Mormon Missile streamliner. It's a Duramax-powered car that just might be able to take the diesel land speed record away from the JCB Dieselmax. The Mormon Missile name is a tribute to the historic Mormon Meteor car of David Abbott "Ab" Jenkins. In order to build Lynn's new diesel streamliner, the team had a simple design criterion: create a chassis to hold a Duramax V-8 in the most aerodynamic shape possible. They ended up with a chassis that places the engine in the center of the car driving the rear wheels, and putting the driver in front of the engine.
 The bottom of the car is the...  The bottom of the car is the most important, as it creates a low-pressure zone underneath the vehicle to keep the Missile on the ground at speeds up to 400 mph. |  The Mormon Missile's fiberglass...  The Mormon Missile's fiberglass streamliner body was designed to push through the air as effortlessly as possible. |  |