hammerwerfer

Leno sets speed mark in Porsche at Talladega
Friday, September 02, 2005
MIKE BOLTON

TALLADEGA - You knew Jay Leno was quick with a quip.

Thursday, the "Tonight Show" host set three world speed records for
production cars at Talladega Superspeedway, but not before giving
Porsche officials and himself quite a scare.

Leno, an avid car enthusiast, drove a stock Porsche Carrera GT to a
speed of 156.603 to establish the world record for the fastest lap
ever run from a standing start on a closed course by a production
vehicle. He also set records for the fastest mile (128.14) and
fastest kilometer (110.478) for a production car from a standing
start.

The records runs were sanctioned by the Grand American Racing Series.

Two hours prior to the record runs, Leno was testing at speed when he
lost control in the speedway's tri-oval. Leno had just passed the
timing light at more than 182 mph when he drifted high in the tri-
oval and got caught up in debris near the wall.

The 605-horsepower, $450,000 vehicle spun five times on Talladega's
front stretch but never hit the wall. The car suffered only minor
damage after hitting a cone located in the grass in the tri-oval.
Leno was wearing a helmet and seat belts, but the car had no roll
cage.

A shaken Leno managed to laugh off the incident.

"NBC thinks I'm at the go-kart track in Malibu," he quipped.

Asked if 182 mph was the fastest that he had ever been in a car, Leno
managed a laugh. "No, he said, "but that's definitely the fastest
I've ever been backwards."

Leno, who has a collection of 85 antique automobiles and race cars,
loves to go fast. He has driven a jet car 278 mph on the dry lake bed
at El Mirage, Calif., and once drove a pre-production race car more
than 200 mph in Spain. He has also driven the pace car at the Indy
500 and Daytona 500.

Danny Donahue, the son of the late Mark Donahue, also set three world
records Thursday. He did so on the track where his father set the
world speed record of 221.160 for a closed course in 1975. Donahue
died 10 days later after that record run in a crash in Australia.

Driving the same car as Leno, Donahue set records for the fastest lap
ever in a production vehicle in a flying start (195.145) and records
for the mile (198.971) and kilometer (195.755) in the same category.

Leno said the car, provided by Porsche but identical to the one he
owns, was a little nerve-racking at such speeds.

"It was a little scary, actually very scary," Leno said. "Only an
idiot wouldn't be a little afraid out there.

"I'm used to driving on the streets so it's amazing to me how at
these speeds a quarter-pound or half-pound of tire pressure can make
such a difference. You can run over a dime on this track and tell if
it's heads or tails."

Leno received instructions and driving tips from Porsche officials
and Donahue much of the morning before making the record runs in the
afternoons.

"Danny tells me this morning to stay off the painted stripes in turns
one and two because its turns are in the shade and there's still some
dew on them," he said. "How would I know something like that? All I
know how to do when I'm driving is to look out for black ice."

Leno arrived in Alabama late Wednesday and took a few quick laps
around Barber Motorsports Park in a Porsche before visiting the
Barber Vintage Museum.

"I believe it's the greatest museum in the United States," Leno
said. "The focus is on the machinery and not anything else. I think
every motor sports fan in the U.S. needs to come see it. Most museums
I've been to are an ego thing to the owner but this one is all about
the vehicles. It was nice, relaxing, fun place to go."


Of course, we all know that Mark Donohue did not die in Australia...

washington951

can't wait to see that video - you KNOW it exists somewhere.....

Nick

The slightest road imperfection and he lost it. Thank god he did not hit the wall. Leno is a very lucky man.

tdf360

Talk about playing with fire. Think of the headlines if he'd killed himself in a CGT.

Gary

pcar964

Wierd that he lost control at 180mph, I don't see what could have caused that. Small corrections are all that's needed at high speed in a straight line or on a banked oval...

I agree though, imagine the bad press if god forbid he was injured (or worse) during this little exercize!

Glad he's alright, Leno is a great enthusiast and apparently a nice guy.

Nick

Gary they indicate track debris may have caused the spin out. One would have thought the track would have been scrubbed immaculately for a record run. There is no doubt in my mind that driving the CGT at speed is akin to grabbing a tiger by the tail. Whew!

rss997

He must have a death wish or something....Did he even have a hans device...?

pcar964

I don't necessarily think driving a CGT at speed means he had a death wish. The car is made for high speed stability, it's not generally difficult to drive in a straight line or banked oval at high speeds... must have been a fluke thing.

Zed.

Driving what is essentially fitted as a street car at that speed without full race cage etc is crazy. Has he not heard of Ben's tragedy?

pcar964

That is a ridiculous statement - first of all, that "street car" is COMPLETELY capable of safely travelling at high speeds, the entire car from the suspension to the tires to the brakes were all designed for EXACTLY that purpose...

Secondly, Ben's tradgedy was caused by secondary factors, i.e. apparently another car pulled out in front of him while he was travelling in excess of 165mph.

Please let's not blow things out of proportion, I mean come on guys! My 993 is almost bone stock, and it's completely stable at 170mph on a rural highway, or 140 on the racetrack. To suggest that a CGT is not safe at 180mph is silly!

Nick

I do not believe anyone has posted that the CGT is unstable at 180mph. I would be curious as to how you would explain the lose of control by Jay Leno a reputed excellent driver. Do you buy the debris on the track explanation?

DMin

Nick, clearly the Carrera GT tried to kill Leno but failed.

Nick

If you read his comments closely you will note he indicates the slightest pressure can unsettle the car. Also note, he received professional instruction from both Porsche and Donahue and still managed to lose it.

Leno is not scared easily particularly with cars and this car made him very scare. Yes, he is lucky to be alive. Next time (assuming there is another next time) he may not be as lucky.

hammerwerfer

A HANS device is not compatible with stock seatbelts.

hammerwerfer

He may well have gotten on the marbles.