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A New World Record for Cummins at
237.660mph

Submitted by Steve Mallicoat
Cummins Great Plains Sales Representative 

Several years ago, local resident, Roy Lewis of West Branch,
Iowa, dreamed of building a streamliner. With Steve Mallicoat and
Richard Crees’ help, Mr. Lewis started building the dream racer
with a Cummins 6BTA5.9 diesel engine. Their goal was to beat
the record land speed of 197mph which was set back in 1974. 

In August 2001, the crew took the dream racer to the annual
speed week held at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah.
The trip was approximately 1,400 miles and the streamliner
experienced several major setbacks. After rebuilding and
reinstalling the engine and fixing other problems with the
streamliner, the crew headed West to the Salt Flats for another
shot at the world record. 

In its first attempt, the streamliner only ran a 146-mph, far short of
where it needed to be. Finally, the crew decided to tear down the
engine and determine whether or not they could reach a faster
speed. After correcting the problem and putting it all back
together, the streamliner ran between 178mph to 226mph. With
the 226mph run, the streamliner made it to the designated area
for cars reaching breaking record speeds. The following morning,
they were required to make a final run that had to be at least as
fast, or faster than the previous run, to actually set the new world
record. 

After starting the engine that morning they found a serious oil
leak. The officials informed the crew that it had less than 15
minutes to correct the problem or our record run would be
scratched. After a speedy trip to the pits, we returned with a part
and finished the repairs with two minutes before the run. With the
engine still not fully warmed up, the streamliner ran another
record pass of an amazing 252.187mph. The two speeds were
averaged resulting in a new world record of 237.660mph!
Cummins now has a world record and Roy Lewis’ dream has
come true. 

It doesn’t end here though. The crew plans on attending Speed
Week 2003 with the goal of breaking our own record, exceeding a
record of 280mph.