JOINT VENTURE
Racing
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly by a radar gun at nearly 170 MPH… over the posted highway speed limit? Every year during the Bonneville Speed Week, the Joint Venture Racing Team has the privilege of doing just that. In the 2006 Art Dick, driver of the Joint Venture, set a land speed record for the Modified Diesel Truck Class at 228.804 MPH. An achievement like that doesn’t begin at the starting line, though. Likewise, a racing legacy doesn’t start with a land speed record.
The Joint Venture, which gets its name from a joint development effort between Don Lemmons of Interstate Wood Products and Ray Heitz of Longview Diesel, made its debut on the Salt Flats back in October of 1990. During that year’s run the Joint Venture was recognized with the Bonneville Speed Week Best Performer Award and returned two years later to set a record at 197.388 MPH, with a separate run at 216.320 MPH.
Prior to its debut in 1990, the extended chassis race truck was no stranger to the salt. The concept vehicle which would later become the Joint Venture was known as the Buzzin’ Dozzen. Then owned by Ray Heitz, the Buzzin’ Dozzen held a record at 167 MPH.
Over the years, many have tried to tame “the beast”; however, few have succeeded. Some fell to fame and fortune, others fell to the wayside. Where many have failed, the Joint Venture’s current driver Art Dick pushed all sixteen cylinders to the limit to set the current record, in 2006.
JOINT VENTURE
Specifications
Engine
- Detroit Diesel 16V92
- 4 Turbo-Chargers
- 2 Blowers
- Approximately 4500 H.P. @ 3500 RPM
Transmission
- Modified Allison 5-Speed
Wheelbase
- 268 Inches
Tires
- Front – Michelin 34.5X9.75-18
- Rear – Michelin H40X14.5-19