Builder, driver

Burke, AKA “Mr. Hotrod,” is an unquestioned pioneer of the early California car culture that in the ‘30s gave rise to racing on the dry lakes and LA streets. Best known for creating the first belly-tank racecar synonymous with land speed racing, he’s also credited with building the third covered-wheel streamliner, the first to use a fiberglass body powered by a motorcycle engine. While a Road Rebels Car Club member, he helped found the Western Timing Association and was an early supporter of the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) and the first hotrod magazine, Throttle. He was the volunteer starter at the inaugural 1949 Bonneville Speed Week where he drove his lakester. By 1960, his hand-built, fiberglass-bodied “Pumpkin Seed” streamliner that mimicked a squashed torpedo set a 205.949 mph record that earned him life membership in the Bonneville 200 MPH Club, later bumped to 264 mph. Over 60 years of racing, the Dry Lakes Racing Hall of Fame inductee’s partners included Don Francisco, Mickey Thompson, Clark Cagle and Doug and Mike Cook.