Despites all the trouble in Bonneville right now, sometimes taking a step back and looking at the historical madness allows us to remember what we're fighting for.

In this case, we're looking at America's "Speed King," Mickey Thompson. Keen readers will remember the massive undertaking that went into restoring his "mystery motor" Corvette Z06, but Thompson was a multifaceted racer and set out to become the first American to break 400 mph in land-speed racing early in his career.

To do this, the Challenger was built: a streamliner stuffed with four supercharged, 414ci Pontiac motors powering all four wheels. Each motor was good for about 750 hp, for a massive 3,000hp of total output. There was also a single fuel tank for each engine, which was necessary, as Thompson called the Challenger his 2-gallons-per-mile economy car.

Thompson was looking to break the previous land-speed record of 402 mph, set by England's John Cobb in 1947. On September 20, 1960, Thompson achieved that one-way record with a run of 406.6 mph.