Ron Buckholz set the Guinness World Record for longest distance of a car burnout last Saturday, with a surveyed length of 1,598 feet.
The Auburn man thrust his fists in the air and cheered with jubilation as he crossed the finish line on the track, his successful final attempt beating the minimum requirement by 122 feet, as a cloud of blue and green tire smoke drifted into the clear October sky.
“Unbelievable,” Buckholz said when asked how he felt as he exited his car upon finishing the burnout at Pacific Raceways in Kent.
“I feel really relieved, excellent,” he said. “We not only hold the record in the longest burnout, but we also have most attempts for a burnout.”
Buckholz initially began the burnout journey to raise money for the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters (WSCFF) Burn Foundation – previously the Northwest Burn Foundation.
To date, Buckholz, with help from his team of generous supporters and sponsors, have raised more than $22,000 for the foundation, along with dedicating the world record to be held in the foundation’s name.
“I’m relieved it’s done,” Buckholz said, “I’m glad it went really well.”
There were a few iffy moments on the track, but overall he was confident this drive would be history in the making, he said.
“I was mostly trying to concentrate on keeping the car from fishtailing. Towards the end when the track goes away, it starts getting more squirrely, and you gotta be on it quicker than right at the beginning,” he said. “But I felt really good. I felt like for sure it was going to happen.”
Buckholz and his wife, Tracy, took off in the 1964 Malibu Chevelle for a victory lap after exchanges of high-fives and hugs all around.
The couple has owned Federal Way Automotive and Radiator in Federal Way since 1982 and are both NHRA Super Street drag racers.
“I’m so proud of him,” Tracy Buckholz said, adding that her whirlwind of emotions and nerves from watching his final attempt made it feel as if she had just run a marathon.
More than 600 spectators witnessed the world record, hosted at Pacific Raceways during the West Coast Grudge Season Final.
And as for Buckholz’s celebratory plans: cocktails and a big steak dinner, he said with a laugh.
“I’m just enjoying it, it was fun,” he said. “It was a long time in the making.”
Sponsors of Buckholz’s burnout world record include: Federal Way Automotive and Radiator; Dr. Injector; Don Small and Sons; Performance Prep LLC; Napa Centerline Auto Parts; Northwest Concrete Cutting; The Truck Shop; Ron Pircey Race Cars; Automotive Images; GM Honest Performance; Kent Performance Auto Center; Jet Chevrolet; Thermal Solutions Mfg, Inc.; and All Transmissions and Automotive.
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