200+ MPH Street Cars!

A Milestone in Speed: The Elite 200 MPH Club of Hot Rod Drag Week

Mike Galimi recently highlighted a remarkable milestone in Hot Rod Drag Week history with a series of articles about the 200 MPH Club. I had to get a little nerdy and expand a little on his awesome write-ups! The achievement of running 200+ MPH, in a street car, during Drag Week, while keeping your car and self together is a feat unlike any other in the world of automotive racing. This benchmark is a badge of honor in the drag racing community, with only 14 unique racers having accomplished this feat. The rules for the 200 MPH Club are simple: Run 200+ MPH during any day of the competition, except Day One, and finish the week! As of the latest count, 39 instances have been recorded where a racer has hit the coveted 200+ mph mark on at least one day and completed the grueling week-long event. For perspective, more than 4200 racers have attempted Hot Rod Drag Week, that is a staggering 0.009% of entrants to have accomplished this feat!!

Who did it first?

Larry Larson was the first to achieve this milestone, breaking the 200 mph barrier in 2009 with his Chevy II. Larson repeated this feat four times with the Chevy II and once with his S10 in 2014.

2009: 204.63 on Day Five, cementing his name in history!

2010: 205.51 on Day Two. Then 209.10 on Day Five! This record would hold for two years.

2011: 203.37 on Day Two. And the only racer to run 200+ of the entire field.

2012: A Huge year! 208.97 on Day One, 209.43 on Day Two, 208.01 on Day Four and 208.26 on Day Five!

Who did it the Most?

Bryant Goldstone leads the pack with seven successful runs in his Javelin, starting in 2015 and continuing in almost every subsequent year!

2015: His first time to be make the 200 MPH Club. Became the fourth racer to run 200+ MPH each day of the week!!

2016: Ran 200+ MPH each day. Bryant and Jeff Lutz were only racers of 2016 to run 200+.

2018: Ran 200+ on Day Two, Three and Four, with 213.57 max MPH of the week.

2019: Ran 200+ on Day One, Two, Three and Four but slipped to a 98.72 on Day Five, locking in Second for Unlimited with 7.38 at 190.45 MPH Avg!

2021: Ran 200+ on Day One, Two and Three with a 210.77 on Day One. Day Four saw 187 and Day five was a Beam-Breaker.

2022: Ran 200+ on Day Two and Four, with a 217.35 on Day Two.

2023: Ran 200+ Each Day of the Week. Fastest of the Week being 218.66 on Day Five. Day Two was close with a 200.27!!

Tom Bailey has reached the 200 mph mark six times with his Sick Seconds 1.0 and 2.0.

2013: Third Racer to run 200+ each day of the week. His first time to compete in Unlimited and his Second Time to finish the week! Ran then Record MPH of 217.42.

2015: One of two racers to run 200+ and finish the week. Day Five saw 227.11, a new MPH Record for a Finisher.

2018: Ran 200+ on Day One, Two, Three and Five. Quickest pass of the event at 219.83

2019: Legendary Year! Ran First Five Second Pass in history and Second Person to run 250+ MPH, first to run 250 MPH and finish the week.

2022: Ran 200+ on Day One and Day Three. Day One at 249.76.

2023: Ran 200+ on Day One, Two, Four and Five, Highest MPH of 215.31 on Day One in Sick Seconds 1.0.

Jeff Lutz, with three different cars in the 200 mph club—both his '57 Chevys and the Mad Max Camaro—has accomplished this four times - 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016. With 2016 holding the current Average ET Record of 6.1918. Jeff currently holds the Single Pass MPH Record from 2015 with his 251.95, he did not finish the week.

Joe Barry has made the list four times with his '56 Chevy - 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021.

Dave Schroeder has three entries, two with his 1966 Vette (2017, 2018) and one with his 2019 Vette (2022). Dave is the only nitrous racer in this exclusive club.

Michael Borggren, driving his Volvo, joins the ranks with two entries in 2021 and 2022.

Who’s done it At Least Once?

Racers that have marked this achievement on their trophy list include Dave Ahokas in 2013, Doug Cline in 2014 with his Camaro, Stefan Gustafsson in his C4 Corvette in 2019, Alex Taylor in her '55 Chevy and Michael Westberg in the S10 in 2022, and the newest members are Joshua Davis in the Mustang and Clark Rosentstengel in his fifth gen Camaro in 2023.

With 2024 hosting the 20th running of Hot Rod Drag Week, we expect a bundle of these racers, plus others, to make their attempt at entering this exclusive club!

Want to know who ALMOST has entered the club??? My next article will include the racers that are on the verge of the Club!

Thank you for reading, if you enjoyed the nerdiness of this, make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. - Written by Mike Narx. All Photos, except Clark Rosenstengel, taken by Mike Narx, edited by Eric White.