Drag racer Brittany Force achieves a new Top Fuel speed record with a run of 341 MPH.
NHRA/YouTube
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Currently, the fastest production car in the world is the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, which reached a top speed of 304.73 mph in 2019. Brittany Force, a world champion and driver for John Force Racing, outpaced the Chiron by achieving the fastest run in Top Fuel history.
The 38-year-old recorded a speed of 341.59 mph during a qualifying run for the 15th annual American Rebel Light National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) 4-Wide Nationals. She surpassed her previous record of 338.94 mph set in 2022 and became the first in her category to break the 340-mph barrier. For those using the metric system, that translates to nearly 550 kph. For comparison, the speed of sound is approximately 767 mph.
Force achieved this record in a dragster with an impressive 11,000 horsepower. She completed the eighth-mile in 3.667 seconds, hitting 301 mph, a feat that is both exhilarating and somewhat daunting, reaching the record speed on her way to the finish.
Not long ago, completing the eighth-mile at over 300 mph was unprecedented. Mike Salinas made history as the first NHRA racer to do so, crossing the 660-foot mark at 300.80 mph in 2023, an achievement that earned him a $30,000 bonus.
Force acknowledged her team's hard work in reaching this milestone.
“They put in so much effort. My crew chiefs, David Grubnic and John Collins, along with every member of this crew. Achieving this together is special, and I hope we can hold onto it for a long time,” she shared with the enthusiast publication DragZine.
Her record showcases the rapid advancements in dragster speeds over recent decades. In the 1960s, breaking the 200 mph barrier was a remarkable feat; Don Garlits made waves with a 201.34 mph run in 1964. It wasn't until 1992 that Kenny Bernstein broke the 300 mph mark for the first time.
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Drag racer Brittany Force achieves a new Top Fuel speed record with a run of 341 MPH.
Force recorded the first-ever run exceeding 340 mph in Top Fuel history, slightly surpassing her own previous record by approximately 3 mph.