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This page is dedicated to the Arfons
Springfield Township, Ohio —
Local land speed record legend Art Arfons was inducted to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Alabama, in April.
The late Arfons broke land speed records at least three times during the mid-1960s.
He got his start in racing in 1953 after having flown a plane over a race and drove down to see what it was about. He saw his first NHRA race with the Allison engines, and became the first drag racer to be paid appearance money, said his son, Tim Arfons.
Arfons had the fastest speed at 132.35 mph at the first World Series of Drag Racing. He went on to set world records on the drag racing, and clocked the top speeds at National Championships in the late 1950s.
It was while he was on his way to the west coast for a drag race when he happened to stop at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and found his niche in land speed racing. In 1962 he broke the land speed record topping out at 394 mph.
The Green Monster
In 1964 the Green Monster, covered in John Deere green paint, made its land speed racing debut. The Green Monster, like all of his race cars, was built in an old feed mill they turned into a shop on Pickle Road in Springfield. The car got the nickname when the announcer said to “Bring that big green monster up here,” according to Tim. Art’s brothers Walt and Dale Arfons, helped him build the monsters until they closed the mill and Art built a new shop near the river.
“He was a genius,” Tim said. “He was known as the King of Junk.”
Tim explained his father made all of his cars out of parts from the junkyard. The land speed car had a Lincoln rear axle and 1955 Packard front end.
“He took junk and went 600 mph with it,” Tim said. “He even made his own tools.”
In it’s 1964 debut the Green Monster claimed the new record of 434 mph thus beginning a battle with Craig Breedlove with whom he exchanged the record with six times in the mid 1960s. Surpassing the 500 mph and 600 mph marks during the duel, Arfons clocked 615 mph before he crashed, making the record unofficial. Tim said no one knows how his father survived that wreck.
“They found one of his tires four and a half miles away,” he said. “He had a burn from the salt and his eyelids had been taken off.”
Arfons survived that wreck and switched gears to turbine-powered tractor pulling.
The legendary racer has been inducted to Halls of Fame for all three types of racing-drag racing, land speed and tractor pulling.
“I think that is one thing that sets him apart,” Tim said. “The three different motorsports halls of fame, that are still major motorsports.
“It is like being inducted to halls for baseball, basketball and football.”
Arfons went to Daytona and entered in a contest where the prize was $10,000 to the first person who could drive 180 mph. Tim said Arfons did not like the turns, but managed 170 mph before he lost the water line and his legs were burned.
Arfons passed away in December 2007 but his son, Tim, and daughter Dusty Spraggins accepted the honor on his behalf. Tim said his father knew he was being inducted, as they heard before he passed.
Turbo" Tim Arfons is the son of 3-time land speed record holder Art Arfons, famous for his line of "Green Monster" jet vehicles.
Tim began his own motorsports career on the drag strip before turning to pulling with his Green Monster Camaro and Starfire Corvette funny cars.
Known worldwide for his unique jet-powered Quadracers, Arfons earned his reputation as a skilled stunt driver by catapulting himself over a row of cars in the Jet Jumper. He has adapted special turbine engines to power the now popular robots and even designed and built the world's only jet powered personal watercraft.
Tim has held the position of jet inspector for the National Tractor Pullers Association and regularly consults with the European Tractor Pulling Committee on its turbine rules.
(WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY MORE HISTORY ON THIS AWSOME FAMILY)
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