A love of cars and aircraft collided for Craig Breedlove, who became a household name in America after breaking the land-speed record five times between 1963 and 1965. In 1959, he bought a military surplus jet engine for $500 to create his first land-speed record vehicle. Inspired by President Kennedy’s “Ask what you can do for your Country” speech, Breedlove named his car “Spirit of America” with the goal of being the first American in 30 years to hold the land-speed record. While that first attempt failed, Breedlove returned the following year and set a record of 407 mph. His record would be broken the next year, however a few days later, Breedlove set another new record of 526 mph. He set another record in 1965 when he became the first to drive faster than 600 mph.

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