Dispatch from the desert: Poteet and Main Speed Demon lives up to its name

Speed Demon, the streamliner known for reaching a top speed of 436, broke 409 this week at Speed Week.

Suzanne Ashe/CNET
Auto Tech
The Poteet and Main Speed Demon streamliner can exceed 400 mph on the Salt Flats. It easily outperforms other streamliners in its class. Suzanne Ashe/CNET

The turbocharged streamliner Speed Demon on Wednesday reached a speed of 409 mph at the three-mile mark on the long track at Speed Week.

Team leaders George Poteet, 60, and Ron Main, 65, have been breaking land speed records for years and have no intention of slowing down by the looks of it.

The 31-foot-long, 4,200-lb. streamliner is known around the world as one of the planet's fastest vehicles.

Speed Demon ran 405 mph with a 417 exit speed on Tuesday and did not complete a run on Monday.

Speed Demon arrives at the Impound area in the Salt Flats on Wednesday. Suzanne Ashe/CNET
The Mopar-powered streamliner is looked after by a team of technicians. Suzanne Ashe/CNET

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