4. Even a slight breeze of 3 mph is considered “too windy” for a run.
Multiply a three-mph crosswind by 300 mph, and the fact that the body of a streamliner is the size of a small billboard, and you have a force big enough to blow you off course. The two-wheel streamliners are far more sensitive to this than the four-wheelers, which is why motorcycles now have their own FIM-sanctioned speed week. The Mike Cook Shootout offers priority to the streamliners; when the conditions are just right, they are allowed to cut to the front of the line to make their run.
While Land Speed Racing (LSR) may not appear to share a lot in common with dirtbike racing, the historic sport is carried out on a surface that is more akin to clay than asphalt. Here are 10 things you might not know about LSR.