Detour 234: Feel the need for speed on the Silver State Classic, Nevada, USA
Nevada’s State Highway 318 is the fastest public road in America where drivers regularly top 200 mph.
That’s because the 90-mile section of desert highway from Lund to Hiko forms the route of the annual Silver State Classic road race.
On May 21 2017 Bob Allyn and his navigator David Bauer drove a NASCAR -spec 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo to an average speed of 219.64 mph over the course. Not top speed, mind, that was the mean velocity, which, er, means, that the duo peaked beyond 245 mph at points and travelled the whole 90 miles in less than 25 minutes.
In 2016 Fast & Furious star Michelle Rodriguez drove a Jaguar F-Type to beyond 200 mph on US 318. “Reaching 201mph felt amazing, the car drove really smoothly, all my corrections were minimal, I was super focused, and it really reacted in all the right ways.,” she said. “I’ve always wondered what it was like to travel faster than my top speed of 140mph and, outside of the Autobahn, it’s impossible for me to do it safely anywhere else and safety is most important to me. It was refreshing to be able to take myself beyond my limitations, going that fast is a big responsibility but the experience in this car was more graceful than anything I’ve felt before.”
It's the nature of US 318 that makes such insane speeds possible. In many places it’s just a desert arrow pointing to a distant vanishing point so drivers can keep pedal to the metal. The longest section without steering is 12 miles and the shortest straight is four miles in length. At 200 mph that distance would disappear beneath your wheels in just one minute and 12 seconds, so the racers don’t get much respite.
The organisers of the event provide detailed pace notes, which for the most part describe “gentle” or “moderate” turns, but at 69 miles drivers enter “The Narrows”. This left-right-left-right-right-left-left sequence is seriously tight and twisty, with a posted speed limit of 45mph for normal road users. Even racers using every inch of asphalt need to slow down massively to make it through.
Two events are held on the course, the full 90-mile Silver State Classic each September and the Nevada Open Road Challenge in May on a shortened 61-mile route. To be eligible cars must be capable of maintaining an average speed of 95 mph over the route and be equipped with essential safety equipment.
Firing through at warp speed drivers and their navigators won’t be paying attention to the beautifully-barren desert landscape, but those taking a more leisurely drive at the 70 mph legal limit will have time to take it in.
Keep heading south past the finish line and 100 miles or so later you’ll find yourself in Las Vegas where the pace of life isn’t much slower.
ROADBOOK
CLASS: Desert Arrow
NAME: SILVER STATE CLASSIC
ROUTE: Lund to Hiko
COUNTRY: USA
Distance: 90 Miles
The window of opportunity to drive into the wilds of Alaska’s Denali Highway is narrow.