Lynn Goodfellow, 67, wanted a record and wanted admission to the 300 Mile Per Hour Club. He accomplished both Wednesday, but at the end of the run in his diesel-powered car, it caught fire and he was seriously burned.

A Life Flight helicopter was dispatched and flew him from the Salt Flats to the Burn Center at the University of Utah. A university spokesman said his condition is listed as serious.

Early Wednesday, a crew member for Goodfellow drove the car, the "Mormon Missile," to a speed just over 300 mph, which set a class record. Goodfellow then got behind the wheel and hit 314 mph to break the earlier record.

At the end of his return run, however, the car caught fire and Goodfellow was burned.

To break a record a driver must make two runs in opposite directions within a one-hour time frame. The average of the two is the accepted speed. Goodfellow was on his return run.

Goodfellow, from Boulder, Nev., had hoped to break the overall diesel record set two years ago by an English race team of 317.21 mph.