Speed Demon Team Records Fastest Mile of Speed Week 2024

After a total rain-out in 2022 and a shortened course and delayed racing due to rain in 2023, Speed Week 2024 was due to deliver big numbers, and the course was finally ready. Hundreds of racers and crew members showed up to tackle the salt and set records, but there’s one extra special prize for the team that records the single fastest flying mile at Speed Week: the honor of winning the Hot Rod trophy.

For the twelfth time, the Speed Demon team won the honor, with driver Chris Raschke pushing the streamliner to a 459.734-mph pass on Tuesday while using the alcohol-burning B-class twin-turbo Chevy small-block V-8. The team began the week with the smaller, E-class Chevy small-block. To learn more about SCTA engine classes, visit our primer on the subject here.

This year’s event was especially poignant for the Speed Demon team, as it was the first Speed Week since the passing of George Poteet, who had driven the streamliner the first 10 times the team had won the Hot Rod trophy. Poteet handed the reins to Raschke, who has taken over driving the Speed Demon since 2023. Raschke had earned his 200-mph Club membership by driving the Jesel Ram pickup in 2020, the same truck that Speed Demon co-crewchief Steve Watt used to get into the “Two Club” in 2021. Raschke was behind the wheel of Speed Demon when it won the Hot Rod trophy for the 11th time in 2023 by running in excess of 300mph in just three miles to defend their title of fastest car on the salt.

The Speed Demon team went to Speed Week 2024 with the same goals they had last year. Holding the AA, A, B, C, D, and F records in the blown fuel streamliner (BFS) class, they wanted to capture the E class record and increase their current records in A and B classes.

Electrical gremlins plagued the team early in Speed Week, but they ran one pass at 389 mph on the 348-mph E/BFS record. Transmission issues prevented the team from securing that record with a second pass, so they swapped in the larger B engine in on Monday. Tuesday’s run was a strong one, with Raschke clocking mile speeds of 276.961, 355.843, 411.799, and finally 446.716 mph. His exit speed of 459.734 mph shows that the Speed Demon was still pulling after five miles of wide-open running! In addition to the fastest time of the meet, the team was able to back up their run and set the B/BFS record at 432 mph. That means Raschke earned entry into the coveted 400-mph chapter of the 200-mph club, becoming just the 17th person to achieve the feat.

Our hats are off to Chris Raschke, Steve Watt, Kenny Duttweiler, and the rest of the Speed Demon team for pushing the boundaries of speed and continuing George Poteet’s legacy.