01/06/2026
It seems many of you like the stories from Mark's book about my life, so here is one more about my friend "Fearless Fred" Goeske and the world's fastest licensed street car...
Around 1995, I was desperate to locate a hard-to-find fitting and was in California. So, I visited my favourite rocket part shops, Norton Sales Inc. and Joe Factor Sales. These are close to where “Fearless Fred” Goeske lives, so I decided to drop in and see him. I arrived at his house, and it was great to see him again after so long. After our initial handshake and saying “G’day”, Fred said, “I want to show you something.”
We walked outside, past rows of shipping containers in his yard, and stopped at one container. He opens the metal door, and packed in the cluttered container is a dusty, red 1980 Plymouth Arrow pickup truck. It looked pretty stock, except for the skinny chromed wheels and specialist race tyres. I looked in the cab, and it was also pretty standard, but for a few extra controls and levers between the seats and a smart-looking roll cage.
Fred says, “The original four-cylinder engine is under the hood, mated to an auto transmission.” He then tells me that the rear axle has air-operated actuators that pull the axles out of the hubs. This is to prevent the differential and driveshafts from being overstressed. A complete rocket system sits in the pickup tray at the back, with two braking chutes, both centrally mounted and hidden from view when the tailgate is up.
“You can drive it down the road; it’s registered and street-legal,” Fred informs me excitedly. I look at this little old red pickup truck that you wouldn’t give a second glance at on the road, but it would leave any modern-day supercar in its wake. Its hydrogen peroxide rocket engine is rated at 3,500 lbs of thrust, equivalent to several thousand horsepower.
“How do you drive her?” I asked.
“You drive her just like a normal small pickup,” Fred replies.
“I have been down to Van Nuys for a semi-legal street race but haven’t been brave enough to run her down the Boulevard just yet.” Fred then demonstrates how it all works.
“To go racing, all I need to do is flick this switch, which operates the actuators that lower the tailgate. I then throw this switch, which transfers nitrogen pressure onto the fuel. Next, I turn this k**b to select the power percentage via a dome-loaded regulator. Then I throw this switch, and it purges the rocket engine. This switch puts the hubs into freewheel. I then line up the car, and we are ready to race. I pull this throttle lever, and this baby reaches 340 mph in just a few seconds. Rosco, you’re looking at the world’s fastest licensed street car!”
I am astounded and have no doubt, even without a demonstration, that everything Fred said would work exactly as he had described it. He was a bastard and a bloody legend.
Fred retired from racing after suffering a nasty crash in 1981. The parachute of his rocket car got caught around the rear wheel at over 275 mph (440 km/h), pulling the car hard to the right and straight over an embankment. The car was destroyed, and Fred was seriously injured.
After retiring from racing, he founded Design Deluxe Manufacturing, which specialises in custom wheel adapters for aluminium wheels.
Fred died in October 2014 at the age of 76. I could fill a book with our adventures and the stories he told me; most would have landed him in prison, but he’s gone now, so I feel the statute of limitations has expired. He seemed to always be under police surveillance. I would see their cars parked up or go past his house whenever I was there. I always waved at them; they would duck down or look pi**ed at me.
Fred and several other pioneering rocket guys will sadly never be seen again. Their careers were cut short by motor racing red tape and politics. It meant many people never saw a rocket car race down the quarter-mile. It was certainly a spectacular event, and their demise is our loss.
Story published with kind permission of Mark J Read.
Please note that many of Fred's rocket engines were built by Ky Michaelson, and Ky also built the rocket go-kart I bought from Fred. If anyone has any images of Fred's rocket-powered pickup, please add them to the comments.
