Fastest Stock Car

On July 4, 2006, Russ Wicks and the American Challenge Speed Record Team beat the world land speed record of 216.946 miles per hour that was set nearly 35 years ago by Bobby Isaac in a Chrysler Dodge Charger. Autodesk was proud to sponsor Wicks and his team as they beat that record at 222 miles per hour and a day later set a new record at 237 miles per hour in a Ford Taurus stock car at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Ready to regain the land speed record, Dodge Motorsports partnered with Autodesk to co-sponsor Russ Wicks and the American Challenge Team. On October 8, 2007, Wicks beat his own record – this time in a Dodge Charger.

Wicks’ vehicle, the Autodesk-sponsored Dodge Charger, was enhanced with the support of the Dodge Motorsports Engineering Group and the Autodesk Digital Prototyping Solution. To break the record, Russ Wicks was able to hit top speeds in the stock car through modifications designed with Autodesk® Inventor™ software.

It all began with an optical scan of the entire vehicle, which was imported into Autodesk® AliasStudio™ software to create digital surfaces used for analysis. To maintain acceleration of the product development process, Autodesk® Productstream® software helped the team manage design data, improving reuse and collaboration. The tools in the Autodesk Digital Prototyping Solution allowed Russ Wicks and his team to optimize the entire process -- enhancements, validation, optimization, and data management -- from concept to manufacturing to go from 0 to over 200 miles per hour in no time.

“Technology is the necessary element that allows me to break world speed records and push the limits. Specifically, Autodesk Inventor and Alias software allow our team to quickly and efficiently enhance the design, speed, and stability of the vehicle.”
—Russ Wicks, Founder and Driver, American Challenge Speed Record Team

Previous Record
Read about a previous speed attempt by Russ Wicks and the American Challenge team.