Infinity - The Tragedy of Glenn Leasher and the Infinity Jet Car
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- Опубліковано 21 вер 2024
- All or Nothing.
The tragic story of drag racer Glenn Leasher and the Infinity jet car, challengers for the World Land Speed Record in 1962.
FURTHER READING
I buy a lot of books! Here are a selection of books that have inspired me or have been useful in my research.
Disclaimer: I get a commission every time you purchase a product through my affiliate links below.
Thrust: The Remarkable Story of One Man's Quest for Speed by Richard Noble
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Railton: Man Of Speed by Karl Ludvigsen
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Goldenrod: The Resurrection of America's Speed King by John Baechtel
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Speed Duel by Samuel Hawley
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The History Of Speed by Martin Roach
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Donald Campbell: The Man Behind The Mask by David Tremayne
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Bluebird and the Dead Lake: The Classic Account of how Donald Campbell broke the World Land Speed Record by John Pearson
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Leap into Legend: Donald Campbell and the Complete Story of the World Speed Records by Steve Holter
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Bluebird CN7: The Inside Story of Donald Campbell's Last Land Speed Record Car by Donald Stevens
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Parry Thomas: The First Driver to be Killed in Pursuit of the Land Speed Record by Hugh Tours
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Quest For Speed: The Epic Saga of Record-Breaking On Land by Barry John
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The Fast Set: Three Extraordinary Men and Their Race for the Land Speed Record by Charles Jennings
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Man Against the Salt by Harvey Shapiro
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Ultimate Speed: The Fast Life and Extreme Cars of Racing Legend Craig Breedlove by Samuel Hawley
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Infinity Over Zero: Meditations on Maximum Velocity by Cole Coonce
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Speedquest: Inside the Blue Flame by Richard Keller
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Crusader: John Cobb's ill-fated quest for speed on water by Steve Holter
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Archive: General Electric, Getty, University Of Utah, Bob Brown & Unknown Sources
All archive used under Fair Use / Fair Deal. Copyright acknowledged in all material.
Sadly, Craig Breedlove passed the last mile marker last week.
Deepest Heartfelt Sympathies For His Family's Huge Loss, May God Almighty Keep Him Always 🙏🙏.
I hadn’t heard. RIP C.B.
Craig lived a long and exciting life, may he R.I.P.
I didn't know., Godspeed Craig.
In other words; we have 1 year + 358 days, to see the wreckage, on the side of the road. (RIP)
I remember the picture of his high laced boot laying by itself on the salt- what force- so touching- so sad never forgotten
Quite the story, and once again told so well by the creator. These videos are made all the more special by their infrequency, and I gladly wait however long it takes for another one to release, knowing full well it will be worth it.
My thoughts in a nutshell!
Thanks so much for your kind words! Life got in the way for a while, hopefully it won't as long before I post the next one...
@@ScarfAndGoggles Power to you!
I'll echo these sentiments. Videos of this quality are rare. I don't hang on waiting for the next but I know that when one pops up it'll be worth it 👍
That should have been the name of the car, “All or Nothing”…those guys had unimaginable guts!
I'd say "they hauled their balls around in a wheel barrow"
@@MACE1-1 They were so big he needed a jet car to haul them around
“Unimaginable guts”-and then everyone got to see them.
Hydroplanes too!
Maybe guts, but NO brains. All comes back to Darwin.
🏆😢💔🙏🇺🇲
Thank you for sharing
i was unfortunate to witness the death of Alan ( Bootsie) Herridge at Santa Pod Raceway in 1983 driving a jet powered Drag Car the memory has always stayed with me and its over 39 years ago when you push the envelope sometimes you push to far RIP
So sorry.
When I was a kid, I saw a man burn in from a parachute jump. The golden knights or whatever they're called. Sorry, my memory evades me. It was absolutely horrific. 😢 I won't ever forget it.
Another very professional and respectful story from the past. Thanks.
You're welcome - thanks for watching!
Thank You-I'd searched and read as much as I could find for years about Infinity and Glenn Leasher-you found photos and facts I had never seen!
Thanks - this was a tough one to research, not all that much information and too few pictures!
After nearly a year the legend returns🔥
Ha ha! That's very kind. Life got in the way - will try not to leave it as long before the next video! Thanks for your continued support...
I feel ya, no problem👌
It's been a minute nice to see you back, great story as always keep them coming 👏
Thanks - hopefully back in the swing of things now!
A excellent presentation on the "Infinity" jet car and Glenn Leasher. I remember seeing a small clip of the "infinity" years ago and the crash, but this was a lot more informative. RIP Mr. Leasher.
Glad you enjoyed it - thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for sharing this history and keeping these names alive. Bonneville is sacred ground to any true hotroder. I hope to visit someday. In the early 70's in Michigan my grandfather had a small jar of salt on a shelf that just had "Bonneville" hand written on it from when he visited there, I thought that was the coolest thing!
My heart goes out to the young pregnant widow. May both have had long lives, and maybe the child is still alive and sees this. ❤ 🙏
Would be nice to see if the kid inherited the stupid genes . . .
Hadn’t heard about this story. Very interesting video and a sad story of a brave man who perhaps didn’t understand the risks he was exposing himself to.
There's a fantastic book on land speed record chasing called "Infinity over zero" by Cole Coonce that gives an enormous amount to of background on Leasher and his peers in the jet (and rocket) car age of the LSR. Highly recommended read.
I read Infinity Over Zero as part of my research. Good book, quirky style! Enjoyed it!
Stupidity will kill you. That guy was a dullard. Males often mistake stupidity for "guts."
A stupid guy, too stupid to realize you should do a bit of thinking before you strap your ass to the front of a jet engine (literally).
He didn’t understand physics. A completely ignorant drag racer. It wasn’t his fault.
Its been a while but i already know its going to be a good video 👍.
And well worth the wait!
@@greyone40 100% worth the wait, always great content.
Thank you kindly! I'll try not to leave it as long next time.
@ScarfAndGoggles it's all good, content this good takes times and it's always very detailed!!
Had never heard of this man until today, thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for another informative and respectful edition in the history of land speed racing. Your channel is by far the best in this type of content.
Great and informative documentary, Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video, as always. Had been looking forward to your next release. Amazed to hear of such a terrifying and equally dangerous design of LSR car. The 60s were a wild time!
Thanks for watching!
Excellently delivered content as always. Impeccably researched and thoroughly enjoyable.
Thank you for the work you put in to tell these stories
Your videos are second to none! I love this topic and can't get enough.
I used to own an Infiniti. Having had a few cool sporty cars, my old 2007 Infiniti G35 Coupe was the overall favorite. It looks like some kind of gorgeous jet with 2-doors and the interior feels like a cockpit with these high-tech bucket seats that do all kinds of cool things, it has heads-up display of sorts that pops out of the upper dash when you start it, the short 6-speed shifter whips you through each gear and even a completely stock model pushes a pretty great 298hp through the rear wheels. The G35 Coupe is actually just a Nissan 350Z with a different body, more leather/ luxury bits & Infiniti badging. After a lot of engine mods and the addition of twin turbochargers, it felt kind of like a fighter jet stuck to the ground. Mine was lost tragically as well, but I did survive
Absolutely brilliant Channel ....👍👍👍👍👍❤
Not a story i was aware of so thank you for this video, and I thank you for this channel and the absolute quality content you produce.
Thanks for your support!
I remember seeing pictures of the aftermath in a book on world speed record attempts, thanks for bringing the full story for what in that book was a one line reference.
You're welcome - thanks for watching!
Very well done video. When I was young I followed the LSR attempts and read the stories of the past record holders. This was in the era of the Arfons brothers, Craig Breedlove, and Gary Gabelich. Sad to hear this story.
I remember those days too... The LSR attempts were very intriguing to me, and very dangerous.. Vehicle aerodynamics that close to the ground at high speeds were not well understood, and they learned one attempt at a time. Having a vehicle design with minimal drag was important, but they also needed enough downward aerodynamic force to keep the vehicle planted on the ground. Tires/wheels were another untested area. At those speeds, the huge internal forces in the tires required new tire technology to be developed......
Thanks for watching!
@@keitha.9788 And eventually, no tyres at all.
Thanks. This story was entirely new to me so well worth waiting for. I appreciate your efforts in this somewhat niche area of motorized sport.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
I checked your videos page every day or two for almost an entire year and was convinced you weren't coming back. Great to see you back!
Who had the idea of sitting the driver in the jet intake? It’s obviously the most dangerous place on the whole car.
Very well written and thoughtfully presented, thanks. Ive seen the picture of the wreck with the boot in front of it, in a book about the LSR.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
A sad story, well told. Thank you for telling it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
The best thing on you tube these days is when you come across a channel that’s enthralling and brilliantly done. Since watching the first video and now watched all of them in two days.
Thanks - glad you enjoyed them!
What about the videos that show monkeys fighting?
Just as a feedback. Your videos are absolutely great. I enjoy them a lot. Keep on the good work!!!
Wow what a fantastic video, top quality as always S&G. A very interesting LSR story I had not heard before.
Thank you!
An outstanding documentary, superbly narrated.
Subscribed.
Thank you - glad you enjoyed it, and welcome!
Thank You for such a touching true story.
finally a new video! This is by far my favorite channel with my favorite topic.
Thanks for your patience! Will try not to leave it as long next time...
This channel don't get the subs it deserves it the best land speed channel on UA-cam
Aww, shucks. Thank you.
Old pilots and bold pilots...
But no old bold pilots...
So very sadly true!
A sad story but with an ominously foreseeable ending. Glenn Leasher had an overly competitive mindset which caused him to recklessly overlook the need to be a team player in a complex challenge which did not just involve accelerating along a smoothly paved quarter-mile dragstrip. His apparent failure to have absorbed the particular rules for the well-known independent measurement system used for all World Record Land Speed Attempts speaks volumes, as does his disregard for the planned 'phasing' of the work through specific stages. Responsibility also rests with the Team Management, whose apparent distrust of their driver should have been followed through, to the point of dismissing him if his behaviour did not improve. Regrettably, many drivers of that period lost their lives when attempting Records on Land and Water, and nothing has really changed in modern times. The amount of kinetic energy present in such vehicles at full speed is far beyond the limits of any modern safety system to protect the driver. Pushing to - and almost beyond - these limits still inevitably results in spectacular fatalities, the 2019 death of Jessi Combs being just one example.
When you read the progression to supersonic by the ThrustSSC team, using a fighter pilot (Andy Green) as driver, and a team of dedicated engineers, you get a real feel for just how incremental the effort must be, if it's going to survive to maximum speed. No place for cowboys.
He was too stupid to survive. Should have died 6 months earlier, the general gene pool a little cleaner.
and the 2022 death of Chris Darnell (RIP)
😂😂😂😂😂😂
I could not have said it better. Clearer or to the point. Great comment.
I understand these videos take a lot of time to research so keep up the good work. Good to get coverage of less well known stories like this one.
I've been eagerly waiting for a new SG upload.
Thanks for your patience.! I'll try and have another one ready soon...
Very well done documentary! Direct and beautiful! Grerat job!
86 years old when he passed .Pretty good innings .RIP Legend
Excellent documentary of a great story. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for this fascinating, little-known, and tragic story of the pursuit of speed on the Bonneville salt flats. A tip of the hat to Glenn Leasher, who despite his recklessness, did not deserve his fate.
I say he did.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Darwinism kills a stupid person. Too bad he was able to reproduce.
@@jsmariani4180
God's bodkin, man
Use every man after his desert, and who shall scape whipping?
Awesome job as always. I honestly didn't know the story of Glen Leasher and Infinity. Unfortunately Glen was as much brave as reckless and that ultimately cost him his life. Craig Breedlove had a similar approach but was ultimately luckier.They say safety regulations are written in blood but so does LSR...
Thanks for your support!
No, he was criminally stupid and paid the appropriate price.
I read about this incident but have not seen much in the eay of footage snd photos so thanks so much for the doc much appreciated Auckland New Zealand 2023
Never heard this story before what a tragic death.Thanks for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it!
Au contraire, I loved the story. Nice to see a bit of much needed natural selection.
OMG you posted another awesome vid, I absolutely love your channel❤ please continue!
Thanks for your patience - hopefully normal service has now been resumed and I'll have another video soon...
In the late 1960s I lived in Fremont, and you could hear the cars on Saturdays from miles away. The track closed in the late 1980s. Before that I lived a block away from the San Jose Speedway and those made Saturday nights noisy too.
Thank you for this.
You're welcome!
An unknown story that deserved to be told. Thank you very much for another fascinating video.
You're welcome - thanks for watching!
Your channel is outstanding!
If you are interested in visiting Bonneville Speed Week this year, we would love to have you as a guest. I'm part of the crew of the Vesco Turbinator II, we are attempting a 500mph average mile if the course conditions permit, this August.
Consider this an invitation, or if you need any information about our car and it's history, I'm happy to help with this too.
Thanks again for all this amazing content and history!
At this moment, I wonder if the water will be low enough!
@@TestingPyros currently the salt is almost dry, it's normal to be wet this time of year. The next 90 days are what will tell us how the course will be for Speed Week. I have been going for almost 20 years now, it's a really neat event
Good luck , lsr challenges are always exploration of unknowns. God speed. Such a unique experience there, it has been almost a decade since i attended as crew chief on a small independent team that did establish record for class.
Wow! Enjoy, and I hope it's safely accomplished 🎉
Wow! the Turbinator is still doing runs? I remember watching a segment on Discovery ages ago. Must be one of the longest running cars at the top of the wheel-driven standings.
Very sad. Perhaps Leasher was hot-headed, but you have to be to try for the world record. The worst moment for me was seeing one of his boots alongside the wreckage.
Thanks for uploading another great and informative video.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
This is a good video! I have friends that run some of the fastest cars at Bonneville and El Mirage. NO ONE lines up for a pass unless they are going for the record. There are no test passes.
The afterburner should have been disabled until all had agreed on things being correct on the basics and the vehicle ready for it.
TOO MUCH LIKE DOING RIGHT ‼️‼️
Great to see you back. One of the best channels on you tube.
So much forgotten history. My first jet powder drag race was in the 70s. I was freezing that March night out in the desert. I will never forget the heat from the two jet powered vehicles. The run took like four seconds, but the memory has been over forty years.
They should've added tail fins to help keep it stable at speed. Excellent work, S&G - subscribed :)
It takes a special kind of taste for danger, to sit in a mighty exposed seat that is strapped to a enormous jet engine
Great video, found your work today, so that gives me something interesting to watch during charlie boys crowning. Peace be unto you.
I was awaiting the less known early 60s LSR "privatees" adventutes, sadly with tragedies and losses, without proper sponsors to backup and adapt the naiive designs and most of all, provide 400 mph-capable tires to smash Cobb's Railton Special record. For me the Infinity was surely a marvel of "backyard genius", with the intake probe including the cockpit. For what I know, in some periodics, the planned Art Arfons' Green Monster LSR, called the "Mach I", was sketched and presented with the cockpit inside the "supersonic probe" but as we know what came after was far from these far-out designs and never was used and sadly, not even tried on the Flats nor Black Rock. Back to the Infinity... I cannot imagine as the probe-cockpit was smashed inside the compressors blades... saw a picture of bone pieces on the Salt Flats as result of the tragic fatality that could be easely avoided, I repeat, with proper high-speed, withstanding tires... and even as being pioneers takes huge risks, they could have asked a decent sponsorship to provide what was needed for such a marvel, which, indeed, exceeded 400 mph before the tragedy. It was ahead of it's times... the concept of a "tunnel" jet car was surely a step foreward, two years before the Green Monster... thus, if they had more patience, and make proper test runs, without the itch to risk everything to break Cobb's record, there was a great possibility to attract sponsors, maybe just going shy over 250 mph, and gradually as usual (atrracting Firestone, I speculate, taking the '62 flop of the early Spirit of America as an opportunity to prove their concepts). But as we know, history cannot change with "if" or "but". A great car, a great opportunity, and a great tragedy. After all, all the steps foreward, all the conquests, and the process to surpass a new fronteer, in most cases, has always claimed lifes, and this is an universal concept.
R.I.P. to all the Pioneers Of Speed.
Tyres are still an issue today. JCB DieselMax's top speed was limited by the tyres.
@@owensmith7530 sadly the general lack of interest in Land Speed Racing is quite common by tire companies also for financing projects... but the main problem is because the general public is not into LSR at all, even among big motorsport fans across the World, and Americans too. So, without public resonance with the reach of new goals, Goodyear, Dunlop, Michelin etc etc just turns their heads away if you propose such things. If they have no money in return by selling their tires by publicity by financing and supporting new records like it was in the Golden 60s Era, the process of recess will only increase. These are the same reasons why in the 60s the whole thing skyrocketed, with LSR getting inside the minds of kids and adults. Which meant selling via TV ADS. And proposing a dream, a project just like a young californian guy named Craig did with Goodyear, is something out of this World nowadays, to not say mad.
Nice to see u back. I was worried that you'd run out of things to say!
Who, me? Never! Life got in the way for a while, hoping to get back to more regular posts from now on...
@Scarf And Goggles
Good luck! I love your videos!
thats a piece of history I never knew about
Very well done video. Thank you for taking the time to tell this story.
Romeo Palamides was instrumental in creating the best five-spoke mag wheels ever, the American Racing Torque Thrust. They look good on anything.
I always liked that car, but never knew anything about it.
I saw a guy die this past summer (2022) in a triple jet semi tractor, Shockwave, in Battle Creek, Michigan. It was such burned wreckage that you'd swear it reentered the Earth's atmosphere from the cosmos. Grisly.
I absolutely agree with keeping the wreck right next to the road in. If that doesn't add some context for the next 'all or nothing' hothead to maybe take some measured steps, then their wreckage can join the display too
As a Wichitan I’ve never heard of Glenn. Now I’m going to have to do some research to learn what I can.
What's to learn? Everyone knows kansas is one of the dumbass states, just not the worst.
Tragic but what a sadly ironic name for a car!
Thanks for the video.
Cole Coonce wrote a really good book that features this accident: "Infinity Over Zero: Meditations on Maximum Velocity".
I read that while researching this video. Great book, quirky style!
What a tragedy, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and it's my first time watching this channel and I have subscribed as I love content like this.
Welcome - glad you're enjoying the channel!
Curious of the tire technology back then. Amazing what they were able to do considering
An excellent video! I had not heard of Glen Leasher, which made it all the more interesting. A brave and courageous driver who was a bit too enthusiastic considering the risks involved.
I've studied land speed car's since my dad got me into it.... I've never heard of this car...
Another great video. Reading about these events as they happened in the newspapers was one of the things that got me hooked on auto racing in all its forms.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I have known about this for years, always wondered why these early cars didn't have fins.......
Rip brave and reckless rider.🙏🙏🙏
That driver was a Rock Ape. It was obvious to the team that he was unsuitable.
They needed a measured, controlled, disciplined, educated, intelligent driver that respected the car and his team to progressively develop it together as safely as possible.
He was none of those things, he wasted the car, money and time of his team and wasted his life too.
YYUUUPPPERRRSSS ‼️‼️
There's a reason why you ease into land speed records.. this is one of them..
Ouch! The poor vehicle doesn’t even look stable sitting still.
A book I own published in 1999 about land speed record attempts stated the the crashed remains of Infinity were still located at the Utah highway department maintenance yard at Wendover at that time. Whether it is still there in 2023 is not known to me. Perhaps someone can determine where the jet car currently resides if it has been moved.
When I was a teenager, these LSRs were occurring. Our three local TV stations would not show the film of any attempt that resulted in the driver's death. One LSR car was, as I remember, built on the body of an F-104 Starfighter, AKA the Widow Maker. The vehicle used the rear flight controls from the aircraft but didn't keep the election seat. The car was driven by Jessi Combs, who was killed by the Widow Maker. The car was named, "The North American Eagle." Great photos at BING search, "land speed racing jet-powered cars."
None of these cars broke John Cobb's record in my opinion. They went faster - yes - but they broke different records. John Cobb's Railton Special was driven through its wheels - and none of the others were. They weren't "cars" by the same definition, so much as rocket sleds.
Good story mate. I didn't know of this one either but it was good to watch in spite of the tragedy.
Great episode .. well dne
Glad you enjoyed it!
oh how things have changed in Safety Its hard to understand their thought process when looking at the lack of protection in the stills , Now their chasseing 1,000mph
I actually laid hands on The Flying Caduceus streamliner. Was a very caveman-ish looking approach to speed. Very unusual streamliner that looks like late 1800's.
It was at Bill Harrahs car museum in Reno Nevada.
They also had Bills daily driver The Jerrari. A old jeep wagoneer 4x4 with a Ferrari V12 that he drove all the time
The Amex 24k Gold plated Delorean was there also. A credit card company stunt Showing what you could buy if your credit was good.
The LSR car Infinity, was way before it's time! It's aerodynamic design would be commonly used in the future. The film footage crash was calculated by scientists that the car was actually going over 600 miles per hour when it hit the outside berm and flipped into the air landing on it's nose cone where Glenn was sitting. Both of his legs and arms were severed only the torso was left in the cockpit!!
The shape appears to offer little downforce or directional control, other than minor corrections at the front wheels. Would a very slight rudder have helped?
I think the engine was angled downward slightly to help keep the front on the ground.
This was a real Man. RIP.
No, he was stupider than some things I have crawling around in my garden . . . .
I feel for the poor people who had to pick up all his mangled bits and guts 🤢
They wouldn't have slept well for quite a while.
You’re bound to find some excellent stories from the hot rod scene. May I suggest The Pierson Brothers Coupe, The Stone, Woods And Cook Willys, The Larsen-Cummings Streamliner, The Michigan Madman’s small block Harley, Flatfire (world’s fastest flathead powered car) or The Big John Mazmanian Willys gasser?
Thanks for your suggestions - I don't know anything about the hot rod scene but I'll see what I can learn!
@@ScarfAndGoggles You’re gonna have a lot of fun finding stuff about Ed Iskendarian’s Model T , or the gasser wars.
well done - excellent narration
“Flying Caduceus.” 😂
I used to watch Glen drive a Top Fuel car for "Terrible" Ted Gotelli at Fremont match racing the Masters & Richard car.
I was only 10 years old and it wasn't Bonneville but ... brain cells sez El Mirage dry lake bed in California, circa 1968-69. Damn, it was amazing ... lots of cycles, dune buggies and dozens of gyrocopters flying around. We had motorcycles (well, the older family at least although I got to sit on my dad's lap and hold the steering wheel of his tough '57 Buick reaching 100 mph). No jet cars except for one displayed at our L.A. school (Cerritos?). Will always remember that colorful sleek machine but regret not enough memory to recall the actual name of it.