86-Year-Old California Man Shatters Speed Records at Bonneville Salt Flats

An 86-year-old Northern California race car driver has broken two speed records at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats, reaching speeds over 300 miles per hour. Gary Matranga, a Sacramento resident, and his team achieved these milestones this summer.

In the gas division, Matranga surpassed his own previous record by 17 miles per hour, reaching a speed of 308 mph. He then competed in the fuel division, which features engines powered by nitromethane and alcohol, and set a new record of 310 mph, breaking an eight-year-old record of 305 mph.

Matranga pilots a modified 1966 Barracuda equipped with a twin-turbocharged Hemi engine that produces over 2,400 horsepower. He described the car as "a handful of work sometimes" and noted that at high speeds, it requires significant driver control.

"About 2.5 miles, it kind of settles down with the air force and then at 300 mph it still moves around, the car moves around quite a bit," Matranga told KCRA.

Matranga, who has had a lifelong passion for speed, is already planning future attempts to reach even higher velocities. His team aims to achieve 400 mph with a "streamliner" design, which involves a specially built, bullet-shaped racing vehicle.

The Bonneville Salt Flats, located in the Great Salt Lake basin in Utah, is a renowned location for motorsports. Drivers from around the world gather at this site, which has hosted speed events since 1912. The salt flats offer a vast, flat, and hard surface ideal for high-speed racing.

According to the Utah Office of Tourism, the Bonneville Speedway's terrain is "barren and flat, with winter rains creating a surface as hard as concrete in the warmer months." Monte Widdison, Vice president of the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association, has referred to the location as "the last bastion of high-end amateur racing in the world."