CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., June 27 (UPI) -- The shuttle landing runway at the Kennedy Space Center hosted another high-performance vehicle, a modified Ford that set a world speed record, officials said.
A modified Ford GT established a world record during testing June 16 and 17, reaching 223 mph on the runway of NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, a NASA release said Monday.
A Guinness World Records judge authenticated the accomplishment, the first in the new Guinness category of speed attained in the standing mile from a standstill start.
"This is probably the best place on the Earth," driver Johnny Bohmer said before the run. "It's very nice, I'm very happy with it. I took it up to 210 [June 16] without trying."
Built for spacecraft returning from orbit at high speeds, the 3-mile-long concrete shuttle runway is becoming a preferred testing ground for drivers and racing teams.
All pay rent for each day they use it, NASA's David Cox, Partnership Development manager at Kennedy, said.
"They're learning [from] us, we're learning [from] them," Cox said.
From NASA's perspective, the testing has to meet certain criteria such as performing true aerodynamic evaluations, Cox said.
