Infinity - The Tragedy of Glenn Leasher and the Infinity Jet Car

if you enjoy this video subscribe to scarf and goggles and check out our other content by 1962 the jet age had come to land speed record-breaking Surplus engines sold off by the U.S military found their way into the workshops of drag races and would-be speed Kings by 1962 four jet-powered land speed Pioneers headed for the Salt Flats at Bonneville taking aim at John Cobb's 15 year old record La physician Dr Nathan ostich was the first with the Scarlet flying caduceus Craig breed love Spirit of America showed potential on its debut although neither car broke any records that year red tape had prevented Bill Frederick's Valkyrie mounting a challenge finally a small team pushed a Sleek silver projectile out onto the salt and prepared to set a new record What followed was a tragedy that has been largely forgotten overshadowed by the spectacular success enjoyed by jet cars in the years that followed the driver's name was Glenn Lisha the car was called Infinity Harry Burge ran a couple of drag strips near San Francisco at Fremont and Vacaville a surplus military jet engines became available in the wake of the Korean War Burge saw that running jet cars on his drag strips would be a big draw he recruited Romeo palomides a well-known local builder of drag racers and Vic Elisha a Berkeley engineering student to help with the challenge of fitting a jet engine into a rolling chassis the first product of this unlikely collaboration was Untouchable an open cockpit racer built around a j-47 jet and first run in 1961. in a stroke they had created the most powerful dragster ever seen and despite initial resistance from purists the huge crowds drawn to the spectacle of a howling jet car trailing Flames as it smashed course records was too much for race promoters to resist with ex-korean war pilot Archie leaderbrand driving Burge was able to charge huge appearance fees for his car he was clearly onto something encouraged by the success and impressive performance of Untouchable the team decided to build a new car to take aim at the world land speed record Englishman John Cobb's record of 394 miles per hour had stood since 1947 and Burj was not the only one to spot the potential of the massive power available from a modern jet engine with several potential Rivals also developing their own jet cars to break the record there was no time to lose like Romeo palomides Glen Alicia was a familiar fixture on the drag racing scene he'd move from his hometown of Wichita to California and had quickly made a name for himself on the drag strips of the West Coast by 1962 at the age of just 26 he driven trucks ridden motorcycles and set records in dragsters the wild good looking boy from Kansas was utterly Fearless Untouchables original driver Archie leaderbrand had recently fallen out with palomidas and so in early 1962 Burge palomides and Elisha found themselves in partnership with Lisha as they planned their land speed Challenger ex-cal Tech student Tom fakuya was bought in to help build the car with the new car's design owing much to Untouchable the team sourced a new j-47 engine with afterburner from a surplus f-86 saber and built their Challenger in a hangar at Oakland Airport the j-47 was encased in an aluminum tube with four wheels fared into the sides an enclosed cockpit sat squarely in the jet intake it was a gloriously empirically simple No-Frills design the polished Bodywork remained unpainted to save money except for a simple nameplate that carried the car's name in blood red Infinity the team had finished building their car by the summer and they naturally took it to the drag strip to test it satisfied with reaching 236 miles per hour in a quarter of a mile they hooked up the trailer and headed straight to Bonneville on the team's first visit to Bonneville Alicia took Infinity to a peak speed of 360 miles per hour John Cobb's 394 miles per hour record set 15 years earlier was in sight and the team hadn't yet lit the Jets afterburner the car felt good and Spirits were high but there was still work to do the wheels needed balancing the parachute system needed work but as they headed back to Oakland secretly burgeon Elisha were not at all sure they had the right man in the driving seat Glen Lisha was an out and out drag racer whose All or Nothing attitude suited the drag strip perfectly but the extremes associated with the land speed record needed a more cautious test pilot approach small speed increments an understanding of the car's power and how it was delivered and patience in approaching the target speed were key while Bonneville offered a five-mile run-up to the measured mile leisha's preferred method was to start his Run 5 8 of a mile before the timing beams holding Infinity on the brakes as he wound the engine up before accelerating as hard as possible when Vic and Harriet quietly suggested he should take it easy during the test runs Glenn had routinely done the opposite and the result was that astonishing Peak speed of 360 miles per hour after just two days on the salt Elisha and Burge considered replacing their driver but ultimately Glenn Lisha whose runs in Untouchable had helped fund Infinity's construction had put too much time and effort into the project to be cast aside hoping they could tame their hot-headed driver the team made final preparations and returned to Bonneville on September the 6th after a couple of days preparation Alicia put in three test runs on the eighth peaking at 330 miles per hour but he couldn't understand why the timekeepers kept reporting a calculated speed well short of his Peak he knew he'd gone quicker than that what was going on as the team discussed the tests one evening they were gripped with a sudden realization could it be that Lisha didn't fully understand the rules of the world land speed record didn't he realize the timekeepers weren't measuring his speed as he entered the timing Zone they were averaging his speed over a mile starting with the first marker hadn't anyone explained this wasn't a drag strip This Was Bonneville early the next day Glenn immediately took the car to 283 miles per hour fired by his new understanding of the rules and again ignoring Elisha's instructions by 9 am they were ready for the next run aiming just below 350 miles per hour this would be another test run with no afterburner Alicia whistled happily as he climbed into the cockpit in the center of the jet intake he knew what he had to do the engine was spun up and as the jet screamed into life Vic Elisha and Tom fukuya headed off to meet Infinity when it arrived at the other end of the course as their truck neared the measured mile Leisure and infinity blasted past them trailing flames this time the afterburner had been lit in true drag racer style Alicia was going for the record All or Nothing at an estimated 400 miles per hour the car began to drift to the right away from the black line that marked the course if the breaking Chute had been released at that point the car might have straightened up by itself in the truck Vic and Tom saw no shoot perhaps a tire blew or a wheel was torn off as Lisha fought to correct the car s flew off Infinity in a cloud of Destruction as it tumbled finally the car smashed into the ground nose first infiniti's driver never stood a chance Elisha and fakuya were first on the scene the remains of the cockpit lay far from The Battered power plant and there still strapped into his seat was what remained of Glen leisure behind him bonneville's brilliant white salt was streaked with oil metal Blood and Bone in the days that followed Sensational press coverage went as far as suggesting Lisha had been sucked into the engine during the most violent crash ever witnessed in the end the official death certificate was more circumspect Alicia had suffered a skull fracture when his jet car had exploded a line of volunteers walked the course picking up every piece of wreckage they could see the team were assured that infiniti's remains would be properly disposed of only to discover years later that the wreck of the great silver car had laying at the side of the main Highway at Bonneville for a further two years providing a stark reminder to visitors that speed records are a dangerous Pursuit eight months before the events at Bonneville Infinity's Brave driver had married his 19 year old sweetheart shortly before he died Alicia had learned that he would soon become a father Glen Alicia was laid to rest in Wichita Kansas although well known in Drag Racing circles The Wider world had barely heard of Glen Leisure before the events of September the 10th 1962. sadly both Alicia and the car he bravely piloted were destined to become a tragic footnote in the history of the land speed record All or Nothing it's a brave bet thanks for watching don't forget to check out scarf and goggles channel for more Tales of record-breaking until next time

Channel: Scarf And Goggles

Views: 308,723

Keywords: Infinity, Jet, Car, J47, F86, Sabre, Bonneville, Drag Strip, Romeo, Palamides, 1962

Id: YqZOORNkXb0

Length: 11min 31sec (691 seconds)

Published: Tue May 02 2023