This Man Wants to Set a World Speed Record... On Ice

February 1, 2020 | By John Gunnell

Kurt Anderson with the Arctic Arrow.
Kurt Anderson with the Arctic Arrow.

His Team Has Restored a 1970s Rocket Car Equipped With Skis for the Upcoming Speed Run.

We’ve introduced you to Dave Sarna on these pages before. I met him when his ’70 Chevelle was a cover car on a magazine I worked for at the time. Sarna grew up in his father’s “old school” repair shop, where he was taught to fix parts, rather than replace them. Dave has a long list of accomplishments including working as an Automotive Technology instructor at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Dave Sarna also is a speed freak and it doesn’t matter if he is moving fast on land, in the air, in water or on top of some Wisconsin ice

In 2013 he took us to the Bonneville Salt Flats to try to break 200 mph with a college-backed student racing team and a big-block-powered Pontiac Firebird. Dave proceeded to break the car, but four years later he got into the 200 mph Club. A week later, he drove my 2017 Oakland over the Wisconsin section of The Yellowstone Trail to raise $8500 for a camp for blind kids.

The Oakland’s top speed was about 40 mph and Dave said that it was scarier driving it than the Bonneville racer. Dave has also drag raced Camaros and ice raced snowmobiles. For the latter type of vehicle, he helps organize the annual Snodeo in Manawa—an event billed as “The Best Show on Snow.”

A few months ago, Sarna invited us to meet Kurt Anderson, a 60-year-old Orono, Minnesota, speed merchant who’s aiming to set the World Speed Record on ice with his “Artic Arrow” rocket racer at this year’s Snodeo.

Anderson’s goal is to better the current record of 247.93 mph set back on Feb. 15, 1981 by the late “Slam’n Sammy” Miller at Lake George in Upstate New York.

Anderson—a semi-retired Internet Services businessman—started his speed career by competing in the NHRA Heritage Drag Racing Series. Then he started looking for faster rides and met Ky Michaelson, who introduced Anderson to rocket-powered race cars. Before long, Kurt and Ky headed to Aerospace salvage yards in California to get parts to remake Anderson’s current rocket-powered car.

Kurt and a small team of fabricators built the Arctic Arrow for the single purpose of bettering the World Speed Record on Ice.

His Ride Is a Restored, Rebuilt 46-Year-Old Machine

The white line represents the speed record course.
The white line represents the speed record course.

The shiny gold, 1510-lb. rocket-powered snow machine was originally built in 1974 by Michaelson. It was then completed and modified by him and Anderson between 2014 and 2016. It is 25-feet long, six inches wide up front and 72 inches wide at the rear. It gets its motivation from a 5000-lb. thrust HTP rocket motor. The Arctic Arrow’s fuel system uses a pressurized 90-percent Hydrogen Peroxide mixture called HTP (high test peroxide) combined with DeZurik wafer valves. Ignition is achieved via a chemical reaction that occurs from converting Hydrogen Peroxide into water and oxygen (steam).

Anderson and Byron Nelson built the car’s chassis and roll cage. The front suspension utilizes 1997 Yamaha V-Max snowmobile struts. The hard tail rear suspension is custom built. The Stiletto rack-and-pinion steering system provides a 15:1 turn ratio. The front independent suspension features 14-in. Drag Ski skis. Aeroski MI500 skis are used in back. Stopping is accomplished with a pair of Simpson 12-in. Crossform drag chutes and a pneumatic ice claw. For some competitions, the rocket car’s skis can be replaced with wheels.

The Artic Arrow’s safety features include a driver compartment built to SFI Foundation 2.3Q specifications, ISP roll cage padding, a 5-point impact harness, an EIS poured form seat, a HyBrid X head and neck restraint, a 3-point high pressure safety relief system, primary and secondary fuel shutoff systems and cockpit arming and disarming controls.

What? Manawa Snodeo and World Record speed attempt. (www.manawasnodeo.org)

Where? Bear Lake Resort,N4715 State Rd 22 and Hwy 110, Manawa, WI 54949

Contact Dave Sarna:

When? Feb. 15-16

Why? To better the current record of 247.93 set on Feb. 15, 1981 by “Slam’n Sammy Miller.”

How? Arctic Arrow Rocket Car https://www.facebook.com/ArcticArrow/

Crewing for the record attempt will be driver/owner Anderson, crew chief Ky Michaelson, assistant crew chief Curt Michaelson, fuel master Buddy Michaelson, chassis master Kevin O’Kelly, commander and chief Capt. Jack McClure, safety supervisor Ed Ballinger, logistics expert Steve Wagner and fuel/ motor heating engineer Dan Swanson.

The World RecordSpeed Attempt will take place during the Snodeo (www.manawasnodeo.org) at Bear Lake Resort, in Manawa, Wisconsin. For more information about the Arctic Arrow visit (https://www.facebook.com/ArcticArrow/). And look for the results of the record-setting attempt in an upcoming issue.

Who?

Kurt Anderson and the Rocketboys: Kurt Anderson– Owner/Driver (from Orono, Minnesota): Kurt Anderson started his quest for speed competing in the NHRA Heritage Drag Racing Series. He started looking for faster and faster rides and met Ky Michaelson who introduced Kurt to rocket-powered vehicles.

Ky Michaelson – Crew Chief: Ky Michaelson has been involved in rocket car propulsion dating back to 1969 when he started to get involved with the very first Rocket Car, the X-1. Since then he has created over 36 rocket-powered vehicles and consulted on the building of dozens more. In 1970, Ky held the Guinness World Speed Record driving a rocket-powered snowmobile called the Sonic Challenger 114.5 mph set on Feb. 15, 1970.

Ky holds over 70 speed records with rocket-powered vehicles. He has direct involvement with over 300-plus rocket car runs.

Buddy Michaelson – Crew Assistant and Fuel Transfer Coordinator: Buddy Michaelson is Ky’s son. He has been involved in rockets from an early age. Buddy has crewed on Kurt Anderson’s Sonic Stinger rocket car runs and worked with his father on many rocket projects including the 2004 and 2014 CSXT rocket launches into space.

Captain Jack McClure – Safety Supervisor: Capt. Jack started using rockets on go-karts in 1963. He has safely maintained and driven his rocket powered go-kart over 200 times. He is now 93 and still drives his rocket kart. http://www.captjackmcclure.com/

Dan Swanson – Fuel and Motor Heating Engineer: Dan is a commercial plumber by trade. He is experienced in high-pressure plumbing and heating systems. His duties include monitoring the fuel and rocket motor heating processes.

Steve Wagner – Team Chef, Team Assistant, Track and Weather: Steve is a long-time friend of Kurt Anderson. He is a finish carpenter by trade and a master chef. He also has a high attention to detail and is very safety minded. He brings a special skill set to the team and is well respected for his insights.