Gary Gabelich
Encyclopedia
Gary Gabelich was a Croatian-American race car driver who set the land speed record
with his rocket
-powered vehicle "Blue Flame" on October 23, 1970, achieving an average
speed of 622.287 mi/h. Only 13,000 lbs. s.t. was used during this attempt, and a peak speed of 650 mi/h was momentarily attained (record speed was 622.407 mi/h on a dry lake bed at Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah
. This record was the first over 1000 kilometre per hour and remained unbeaten until 1983, when Richard Noble
broke it driving Thrust 2.
Gabelich was seriously injured in the crash of an experimental 4 wheel drive Funny Car
. Gabelich died in January 1984 in a motorcycle crash.
Gary was a delivery driver in his younger days for Vermillion's Drug store driving a split window 1960 era VW kombi delivery van.
He lived at that time in Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach, CA. with his parents.
Gary and his family appeared on the Family Feud
with Richard Dawson, where he presented the key to the city of Long Beach, Ca. to Dawson.
Land speed record
The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
with his rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
-powered vehicle "Blue Flame" on October 23, 1970, achieving an average
Average
In mathematics, an average, or central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" value of the data set. Average is one form of central tendency. Not all central tendencies should be considered definitions of average....
speed of 622.287 mi/h. Only 13,000 lbs. s.t. was used during this attempt, and a peak speed of 650 mi/h was momentarily attained (record speed was 622.407 mi/h on a dry lake bed at Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. This record was the first over 1000 kilometre per hour and remained unbeaten until 1983, when Richard Noble
Richard Noble
Richard Noble, OBE was the holder of the land speed record between 1983 and 1997, and was the project director of ThrustSSC, the vehicle which holds the current land speed record, set at Black Rock Desert, Nevada in 1997....
broke it driving Thrust 2.
Gabelich was seriously injured in the crash of an experimental 4 wheel drive Funny Car
Funny Car
Funny Car is a drag racing car class. In the United States, other "professional" classes are Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and carbon fiber automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers'...
. Gabelich died in January 1984 in a motorcycle crash.
Gary was a delivery driver in his younger days for Vermillion's Drug store driving a split window 1960 era VW kombi delivery van.
He lived at that time in Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach, CA. with his parents.
Gary and his family appeared on the Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
with Richard Dawson, where he presented the key to the city of Long Beach, Ca. to Dawson.