A friend just asked if I wanted to check out the high speed runs at Loring Air Force base in Maine on September 4-6, 2015. I decided to check out the rules to better understand the event and found some strange ones.
For those not used to the land speed runs at airstrips, here’s a quick run down. Loring Air Force Base has a 2.7 miles long runway and you race for 1.5 miles from a standing start on the long course. There is a one mile course as well. Its basically a super long high speed drag race. 
Ok so here’s where it gets interesting. You can run any street car without safety equipment if you stay under 135MPH. If you want to run 150mph, you need a four point cage. 175mph requires a 6 point cage and anything faster requires a full cage. BUT if you bring a supercar, like a “Corvette, Cadillac CTSV, Nissan GTR, Ferrari, or Porsche,” you can run 175MPH with no other safety gear than a fire extinguisher, helmet, and padded neck collar.
Are “Supercars” that much safer than say an M4 BMW or an M4 a “supercar?” What about the giant engine large sedans from Germany like an Audi S8 which reaches 181 MPH. Maybe that’s a supercar? What about a Ford Mustang which can reach 164MPH? Supercar? The Ford Fiesta ST I had went nearly 150MPH on the Autobahn. Supercar? Probably not.
I’m not sure these cars can reach those speeds in 1.5 miles but it seems a few could. So I’m wondering why supercars require no roll cage when the other cars do? Why can you go 175MPH in a corvette but if you have modified BMW you’re capped at 135MPH without a cage? Does that seem right? Anyone know more about how these events work or what I’m missing? 
But my real favorite is the motorcycles. So the rest of us need a cage but if you have a 200mph motorcycle you can just go out and let it rip? What am I missing? 
