Chelsea: Speed

In a piece about the upcoming auction of a ’54 Dodge Hemi Firearrow Coupe, the only concept car known to be a land speed record holder, Hotrod Magazine quotes the woman who drove the car for that record, Betty Skelton: “I remember in 1954, one of the executives from the Dodge Division of Chrysler Corporation called me and asked if I would come to their new proving grounds in Chelsea, Michigan to take their new 1954 Dodge concept car around the track to see if I could break some records. When they picked me up at the airport they brought me immediately to the proving grounds in my high heels and party dress and asked me to take the car around the track. … It handled so well I didn’t realize that there was any possibility of breaking a land speed record until they told me that I had averaged a 143.44 mph.” [Source]