The iconic Daytona track has a new speed record at 222.971 miles per hour (358.84km/h), after Colin Braun shattered the previous, 26-year-old benchmark while driving a Ford EcoBoost-powered Riley prototype race car. Braun’s overall speed for one lap was more than 12 miles per hour (19.3km/h) faster than the velocity achieved by Bill Elliot back in 1987, who hit 210.386 mph (338.583km/h) in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Ford Thunderbird during qualifying for the Daytona 500. What’s more, the vehicle co-developed by Ford and Riley Technologies set two additional world speed records for 10 miles from a standing start at 210.018 mph (337.991km/h) and 10 kilometers from a standing start at 202.438 mph (325.792km/h).
“It was a challenging day,” said driver Colin Braun. “There was a lot of work put in by a lot of people to accomplish these records. The power in the new EcoBoost engine was incredible, and it was amazing how fast it came up to speed on the runs.”
The Ford Riley EcoBoost racer will compete in the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and will make its official track debut at the 2014 24 Hours of Daytona (January 25-26).
