He was the owner, builder and rider of the famous EZ Hook Streamliner.
Sam Wheeler was a land speed racing legend, and Monday, the 72-year-old California native lost his life in an accident while doing what he loved.
Sam Wheeler built his first streamliner in 1961 at the age of 18. But he was drafted and sent to Viet Nam, and had to wait until he came back to give to his passion all he had. He dreamed of breaking the speed record in his homemade machine, a streamliner motorcycle. Test and Tune coordinator’s Mike Cook says that Sam wanted to be the first motorcycle to go 400 miles an hour, and to do that you need to test non stop. Cook said Wheeler was testing on Monday and “everything seemed to be going fine when, all of a sudden, the tail of his bike started to wiggle. From there, it landed on its side, jumped up, and then rolled over twice”. Daniel Warner, a record certifier, who was a few miles away when it happened, says: “I looked up the track and saw this big dirt cloud. It landed on the roof, as you would call it, and that was where his head was.”
Sam Wheeler was rushed to Intermountain Medical Center, in Salt Lake City, but died of his injuries. Larry Volk, Vice President of the 200 mph Club, says it’s a risk all racers are aware of. Wheeler is survived by a wife and two children. He was one of many out at the Bonneville Salt Flats this past week testing and preparing for Speed Week, which takes place at the Salt Flats starting on August 13.
