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In 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, Mickey Thompson reached an unprecedented speed of 406.6 mph in a four-engine streamliner he called Challenger 1. However, figures for official land-speed records are determined by the average speed of two runs—one in each direction—and on the return run, the car’s engine failed. That first attempt at the record turned out to be Thompson’s final one. He came back to Utah eight years later in a new car, Challenger 2, but the e…