Elliott crashes attempting to topple NASCAR speed record

UPDATE The last thing Bill Elliott expected to be riding in on Wednesday at Talladega Superspeedway was an ambulance. Elliott was at the track — where he set the NASCAR qualifying record in 1987 of 212 mph — in an attempt to break that mark. He was driving a Ford FR500C Mustang, a production racing model modified by Brent Hajek of Hajek Motorsports. The same car reached 252 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats last year. On hand for the occasion were Len and Eddie Wood of the Wood Brothers racing team and legendary NASCAR team owner Bud Moore. But it rained most of the day and by the time the sun came out and the track dried enough there was just time left for a couple shakedown runs to check the car out before taking a shot at the speed mark on Thursday. Elliott was on the second lap of the second run when the right front tire blew, sending him hard into the wall on the backstretch. "That's not what I was looking for," Elliott said of the ride back to the garage in an ambulance. "Only hurt my feelings." Hajek was disappointed his shot at the speed mark was cut short but said he might give it another shot on another day. "We'll have to determine what happened and see if we can fix it," he said. Alabama Live

05/09/09 The current NASCAR top speed record sits at 212.089 and was set by Bill Elliott at Talladega Superspeedway in a 1987 Ford Thunderbird. Brent Hajek apparently figures it's about time that 22-year-old record is topped. Next Wednesday, May 13th, Hajek will once again put Bill Elliott behind the wheel of a Ford at the famed Talladega oval in Alabama, only this time, the vehicle in question will be a Mustang FR500C modified to run on E85. This particular Mustang Cobra Jet has already managed to clock a 252 mile per hour top speed at the Salt Flats in Bonneville. On Wednesday, May 13, Hajek Motorsports will embark on its next challenge, with technical support from Ford Racing, when they attempt to break the 22-year-old NASCAR speed record held by Bill Elliott. Elliott himself will pilot Hajek's E-85 Mustang FR500C, which has been reconfigured to NASCAR specs, at Talladega in an attempt to break his 212.089 mph qualifying lap from 1987 at the same track. FIA officials will be on site to verify the attempt and to validate the record. The Hajek Motorsports E-85 Mustang is currently at Bill Elliott's race shop in Dawsonville, Georgia, going through final preparations. Early next week, the team will scrub tires and do initial testing, in anticipation of breaking the record on Wednesday afternoon. autobloggreen.com