He returned to the salt last year with a diesel-powered car and set a record in the B-streamliner class of 242.81 mph. His record stands at No. 3 in the overall diesel category. His goal is to be No. 1. He openly admits he's a high school dropout — "School bored me" — with a brain for engineering, "but not the education."

He came up with the idea for a new car last year and started work in November. He hired a draftsman to put his plans on paper and a computer programmer to build the software, and had the diesel engines custom-built. He fabricated the car itself using special one-

eighth-inch metal sheets produced in Sweden.

All the work, he said, was done on site at his company in Boulder.

"The only things that were done outside the company were the wheels and some fiberglass work," he said. "We're junkyard junkies, you could say. And, when you're junkyard junkies the parts you use come out of a junkyard ... and so that's what we did. We got parts from wherever we could. The cost is nowhere near the $26 million JCB spent."

He had hoped to carry on the name "Mormon Meteor" but found the name and car had been sold to a museum. He then got permission from the church to use the name "Mormon" on the car, then added the "Missile."

Introducing the new car to the salt track did not go particularly well. Straps holding the car in place in a trailer broke en route to Bonneville and the car was damaged. Repairs took longer than expected and the meet closed before the car was ready.

He plans on returning to Bonneville for two smaller events this month.

For now he's making necessary repairs, redesigning the tie-down holds in the trailer and hoping a record and his example will lead to becoming the world's fastest diesel and to expand his missionary calling.