PPIHC ROOKIE RICK LIND BRINGS LAND SPEED RECORD TRUCK TO RACE TO THE CLOUDS
Colorado Springs, CO – Memories of the 102nd Running of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, brought to you by Gran Turismo, are still fresh for race fans and competitors. South Carolina’s Rick Lind brought his 1967 Chevrolet C-10 to the mountain to run in the Pikes Peak Open division, finishing in 12:13.257 exclaiming afterward, “It’s been an obsession. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it.”
SPEED SCENARIOS
Lind shared his unique racing backstory and how his love of speed was born. “Growing up in rural Arizona, I got started in racing a little later in life than most people. I began restoring and building muscle cars in my late 20s and, at the encouragement of the HotRod Magazine staff, I began racing a 1968 Shelby GT 500 in my early 40s. Once I got started, I haven’t looked back.”
With nearly twenty years of land speed record attempts in his rearview mirror, Lind has set 13 records in multiple classes and vehicles. He built and drove each record-setting entry. Currently, his fastest record is 236.5 mph in a 1969 Ford Talladega.
“Land speed racing has been my pathway to many other forms of racing,” explained Lind, “including drag racing, road course racing and NASCAR. I was a participant in one of the inaugural HotRod Magazine “Drag Week” events driving the 1968 Shelby GT 500 which ran in the low 11s.”
GEARING UP FOR PPIHC
Since his college days at Northern Arizona University, Lind dreamed of hill climbing and enjoyed perfecting his daily 14-mile commute through Oak Creek Canyon’s famous switchbacks. His road finally led him to Pikes Peak in 2024 and a chance to attempt the most famous hill climb in the world.
“All I’ve done for the last year is lay the groundwork for this event,” explained Lind. “I spent that time preparing my truck, which meant a complete makeover to cut the truck’s weight by 900 pounds, and my weight by 50 pounds.”
Asked about his training regimen, Lind said, “I logged 2000 miles at track day events in the last year. I watched a couple of in-car videos almost every day. Plus, in 2023, I helped out another team on Pikes Peak in order to learn, what I call, ‘The Pikes Peak Shuffle’ meaning all the ins and outs of tech inspection, practice and qualifying, along with the race day event. During that time I made 30 to 40 trips up the mountain, and this year I tried to get in two or three daily trips to the top.”
ABOUT THE TRUCK
Lind shared build details and interesting facts about his PPIHC entry.
- 1967 Chevy C-10 Pickup
- Dodge R5/P7 motor
- 850 horsepower
- NASCAR truck series chassis
“The body came from a friend’s grandfather’s farm truck and the chassis is from one of my old NASCAR trucks. We’ve had the truck in the wind tunnel a few times making the aero work for both land speed racing and road course events,” explained Lind. “It holds multiple land speed records including one where a 13-year-old girl set a record at 175 mph in this truck. I don’t have real sponsors, so I used my great grandparent’s Mobil Oil dealership to dress things up. The image on the hood is a ‘Trophy Girl’ I use with the permission of Zombie Hotrod Wear.
FANS MAKE RACING HAPPEN
Lind offered his impression of Fan Fest, the 10-block pre-race street festival in Downtown Colorado Springs drawing 35,000 eager fans. “Fan Fest was insane, in a good way! All the people and all the kids, what a great time. I signed autographs for 5 hours straight! It’s a good thing because fans make racing happen.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Lind’s plans for October start with a trip from his Aiken, South Carolina home to the testing ground in Blytheville, Arkansas in an attempt to set a 200+ land speed record in the same truck he raced on Pikes Peak.
GET TO KNOW RICK LIND
Fun Facts:
“I was on both high school and college rodeo teams.”
“I worked on nuclear weapons for 20 years.”
“I’m currently building my personal museum to house my car collection.”
“My race number, #867, is a reference to the song ‘867-5309’ by Tommy Tutone. You can see ‘5309’ is ghosted in below my official number.”
What inspired you to enter the Race to the Clouds? “It is one of the last iconic races that is within reach for everyone. Its rich history with the Unser’s, the Dallenbach’s and the who’s who of racing royalty, has forever carved the event’s significance in auto racing. There is still room for the privateer to compete alongside the racing greats.”
Favorite section on Pikes Peak: “I like the lower section – lots of sweeping corners and speed.”
What surprised you most about Race Week? “I was truly humbled by how nice everyone was. I think every factory team complimented my truck, wanted their picture taken with it, and wanted my autograph. The Audi Team from Hungary treated me like I was a celebrity…you would have thought I won the race!”
Any Pikes Peak heroes? “Sterling Chase (the guy with the cowbell) and Luke Doyle. Sterling brings great flair to race day! His parting the sea of spectators with his cowbell, while leading cars to the starting line, is awesome.”
“Luke Doyle is a great ambassador for Pikes Peak and the Pikes Peak Highway. He has turned his position of driving the snowplow into being an ambassador for the mountain. He is always posting updates about the weather and road conditions. Plus, he tells me I may get to drive the snow plow one day!”
Check out Rick Lind’s Land Speed Record-Setting Truck and his 2024 Attempt on PPIHC
Photos by: Larry Chen Photo; Larry Chen, Luis Garcia, Payton Smith, Charles Zhou;
Headshot: Rick Lind
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Contact:
Lisa Haight
Communications Manager / Historian
lisa@ppihc.org
(719) 685-4400
www.ppihc.org
