RIP: Farewell to Craig Breedlove, America’s King of Speed. “He was our earthbound Neil Armstrong. Craig Breedlove took giant leaps for us into the ethereal unknown on the salt flats of Bonneville, strapping inside handmade rockets that emerged from his mind, making history as the first human to fire past the 400-mph mark on land. Eclipsing 500 mph was next. And then it was flirting with the sound barrier as hurtling past 600 mph was achieved by this son of Southern California. Born in 1937 in Los Angeles, Breedlove—Land Speed Record racing’s biggest and most enduring star—died this week at the age of 86, bringing an end to one of the sport’s most celebrated chapters.”