George Poteet

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Wikipedia

George Poteet in 2015

George Poteet (February 22, 1948 – July 16, 2024[1]) was an American Memphis-based[2][3] land speed racer and winner of the 1996 Ridler Award.

Poteet's 1937 Ford roadster (built by Don Pilkenton)[4] won the 1996 Ridler Award.[5][6][7] This car would go on to take "America's Most Beautiful Roadster", top prize at the Oakland Roadster Show.[8]

In 2011, Poteet drove Speed Demon (built by Ron Main) to 426 mph (686 km/h) at Bonneville,[9] and eventually broke both the C/BFS and D/BFS (supercharged fuel streamliner) records.[10] After making "the fastest piston engine pass ever",[11] Speed Demon was displayed at the 2018 Detroit Autorama.[12][13]

Personal life and death

Poteet was born on February 22, 1948, in Mantachie, Mississippi. His father was a sharecropper and his mother worked at a garment factory. Growing up, he tinkered on his family's car. He worked at National Safety Associates (later Juice Plus) from 1970 to 2020.[1]

Poteet married Cathy in 1990, with whom he raised four children. He was married twice before.[1]

Poteet died on July 16, 2024, at the age of 76, of a pulmonary embolism.[14]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Mooallem, Jon (14 August 2024). "George Poteet, the King of Amateur Landspeed Racing Who Said He Never Got a Speeding Ticket, Dies at 76". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  2. ↑ Larivee, Bob (2015). Hot Rod Detroit. Oxford, Michigan: DP Publishing. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-692-30899-8.
  3. ↑ Autorama.com Archived 4 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine (retrieved 3 January 2019)
  4. ↑ Hot Rod Magazine online (retrieved 3 January 2019)
  5. ↑ Larivee, Bob (2015). Hot Rod Detroit. Oxford, Michigan: DP Publishing. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-692-30899-8.
  6. ↑ Autorama.com Archived 4 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine (retrieved 3 January 2019)
  7. ↑ Mlive.com (retrieved 3 January 2019)
  8. ↑ Hot Rod Magazine online (retrieved 3 January 2019)
  9. ↑ Squatriglia, Chuck. "This is what 426 mph looks like." Autopia. Wired. August 24, 2011.
  10. ↑ (retrieved 3 January 2019)
  11. ↑ (retrieved 3 January 2019)
  12. ↑ "George Poteet and Speed Demon at 2018 Detroit Autorama". ClassiCar News. 28 March 2018. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  13. ↑ Payne, Henry. "Autorama in Detroit celebrates speed freaks". The Detroit News. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  14. ↑ Galimi, Mike (16 July 2024). "Remembering George Poteet: Land Speed Racing Pioneer and Hot Rodding Legend". motortrend.com. Retrieved 17 July 2024.