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Writer's pictureJaela Deming

December 26, 2023: A meeting with World Champion Jim "Jet" Neilson

Hey Folks,


This rig is what greeted us when we pulled into the Aransas Pass Walmart to restock groceries and hit up the Christmas candy sales. We had no idea what in the world this thing was, but I googled the name on the side of it...Jim "Jet" Neilson. Turns out we were parked across from one of two active Landspeed Jet Cars. The only other one is in England. Mr. Jim Jet Neilson is a four-time world record holder, holding records with both this Landspeed Jet Car and his Mercedes Jet Limo.


This daredevil's biggest claim-to-fame is holding the World Landspeed record for rubber tires on pavement at a whopping 404MPH. He set this record in 2004 at the Mesa Arizona Air Show. Since then, two more racers have attempted to smash this record and both died in the attempt. In his own words, that led to him being "smart enough not to be stupid enough to try it again," even though his jet car can go up to 700 mph.


Of course, we couldn't just walk by it without a closer look, so Dominic and I stopped by on our way out of Walmart. Mr. Neilson was actually in his truck and hopped out to talk with us. We asked some questions and learned that it's over a 1.5 million dollar car that he built from scratch with an F4 Phantom military-grade jet engine that produces 50,000 horsepower. He hasn't raced since before what he calls 'the scamdemic,' and will probably retire after this year. Before then, he hopes to establish one final world record...in South Texas.


Once Mom and Dad finished shopping and heard that we'd already talked to him and found it quite fascinating, they headed over to learn more as well. They found out that he also travels to speak at schools, trying to inspire young people to, in his words, "quit playing video games and eating McDonald's," and actually achieve something in their life.







It was fun to meet Mr. Neilson and learn about his landspeed jet car. Prior to pulling into this small-town Walmart parking lot, we had no idea such a thing even existed. I guess you really can learn something new every day, even from a simple trip to Walmart!


Until next time, God bless!

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