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The fastest man on street radials September 7, 2004 On January 29, 2004, "Big Daddy" Gutridge made the world's first seven-second pass on street radials - BFGoodrich® g-Force™ T/A® Drag Radials, of course. His time: 7.98 seconds at 178 MPH. We got the world's fastest man on street radials to sit still long enough to answer — appropriately — seven questions about what it's like to go that fast and where the record goes from here. 
1. Did you really go that fast? Yes. 2. What's it like going 178 MPH in a street car? It's not the feeling of going fast. The faster you go, the quicker it happens. The real feeling is the enthusiasm you get from the fans. That's what I feed off. They appreciate the hard work that goes into what we do. You wonder, if there were no fans out there to see it, would we really bother to do it? 3. How does it feel to have the World Record? Records are broken all the time. But being first to get under a time is something you keep forever. Being first into the sevens is something I really wanted to do for BFGoodrich. And having been the first is something no one could ever take away. 4. What's your secret? Desire, determination and unwillingness to give up. I was told once that it would never happen, that I wouldn't get into the nines. And that was all I needed to hear. 5. What's next for you? I'm concentrating on being the first into the sevens on a 325 drag radial*. I've done it on a 315. I want to do it on a 325. 6. What's the fastest you think anyone will go on street radials? You mean, what's the fastest I'll go? (Laughs.) I don't know. The sky's the limit. They said I'd never get into the nines. Then they said you wouldn't go eights. Then they said you won't go sevens. 7. You think you'll be able to break into the Sixes — on Street Radials? You never know. * defined as 325/50/15, a tire size allowed by most sanctioning bodies in formal competition NOTE: Big Daddy Gutridge's feat was accomplished during competition by a professional driver, on a closed course, and with proper safety equipment. No one should attempt this on the public highways. Photo courtesy Red Planet Design Inc. 
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