After setting two land speed records, Brent Hajek and his father took the 2011 F-250 Super Duty workhorse back to their Oklahoma farm.
Brent Hajek is at it again. In 2010, Farm Journal reported on Hajek’s record-setting 255.764 mph, E85-powered Ford Mustang. This past summer, the Ames, Okla., farmer returned to Bonneville Salt Flats with a 2011 F-250 Super Duty pickup and left with two diesel-powered land speed records.
Hajek worked with Ford engineersto modify the F-250 for the record runs. A larger turbocharger and modified injectors were installed, and the engine compression was slightly decreased.
“We went out there to set the B Diesel Truck record, using No. 2 diesel fuel,” Hajek says. “We ran 171.123 mph to set a new record in that class. Just for fun, we drained the No. 2 out of the tank, poured in B20 diesel and ran 182 mph, which smashed the old record of 130 mph.”
A side note to the impulsive attempt at the biodiesel record is that when his crew drained the No. 2 diesel from the tank, they discovered they had burned only 1 gal. during their record run, averaging 6 miles per gallon at 170 mph.
While many Bonneville vehicles are one-of-a-kind race cars, Hajek’s F-250 is a workhorse, too. “The guys at the co-op give me a hard time because I pull fertilizer tanks with a truck that had a roll cage and racing seat in it,” he laughs.
Stat Rack
USDA-Economic Research Service 2011 predictions for U.S. farms:
28%: Rise in net farm income, matching the increase recorded in 2010.
1st: Time that net farm income and net cash income are both projected to exceed $100 billion.
16%: Increase in crop and livestock sales.
$200 billion: Crop sales, the largest-ever in history.
17%: Increase in livestock sales, with double-digit increasesacross most categories, especially red meats.
$320 billion: Total production expenses,a $34 billion (12%) jump driven by increases ininput prices.
14.4%: Decrease in government payments compared with 2010, for a total of $10.6 billion.
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FEATURED IN:
Farm Journal - January 2012
