Lynn Goodfellow feels he's living on borrowed time. And, in fact, believes his note may well be past due.

He was involved in a plane crash in 1985. News reports listed him among the dead. He was seriously injured.

"They repaired me, but I'm on borrowed time," he said. "And, if I'm going to go, then I want to go doing what I want to do and try and do missionary work at the same time."

Goodfellow, 67, is a ward mission leader for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nevada. Doing what he wants to do involves building and racing the world's fastest diesel-power vehicle. And, while doing it, follow a path similar to the one once taken by the late legendary racer Ab Jenkins, once mayor of Salt Lake City.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Jenkins was one of the most recognized race drivers in the United States. He set hundreds of records, including 24-hour endurance runs on the Bonneville Salt Flats in three cars he named "Mormon Meteor I, II and III."

Among his records was a 24-hour, nonstop run in the Mormon Meteor III at 161.180 miles per hour. That record stood for 50 years. And, at the company's request, he drove a new model Pontiac on a record endurance run. The model was later named the Pontiac Bonneville. When he died in 1956, Jenkins still held 147 records.

Jenkins, a Mormon, gave credit for his success to living his religion and to drinking milk. Jenkins and his cars became an example to others and a calling card for people to learn more about the church.

Goodfellow hopes his car, the "Mormon Missile," and his lifestyle will gain similar respect and draw inquiring minds. He brought his new diesel-powered car to the Bonneville Salt Flats in mid-August. His goal was to begin his challenge on the current diesel world-speed record of 317.21 mph set in 2006 by the JCB, one of the world's leading heavy equipment manufacturers out of England. The company spent $26 million to acquire the record.

"After setting the record they were claiming how smart they were and how dumb we in America are. So, I decided to build another car and go for the record," he said.

This was not his first visit to Bonneville. Goodfellow came to the salt in the 1950s, he said, but gave up racing to raise his family of 12 children and to start a company, Goodfellow Corp., in Boulder, Nev., manufacturers of rock-crushing equipment used around the world.