Have you ever driven a car in reverse at over 50 miles per hour?  It’s a given most people have not, but that is definitely not the case for Scot Burner. Scot has been driving cars backward at top speeds for close to three years and posting videos about it on YouTube as well.  In September of 2020, Burner began making plans to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest mile driven in reverse. Becoming a world record holder takes a great deal of planning and dedication, and the rules and requirements set in place by the Guinness World Record are strict; they must be adhered to for the sake of authenticity.

Daniel Decker, National Corvette Museum’s Vehicle Maintenance and Preservation Tech, shared, “In order for Scot to break this record, someone had to certify the Corvette Burner was to drive was stock, and I was able to complete that step in the process.” In addition to the vehicle’s certification, Burner also had to have the NCM Motorsports Park track inspected by a land surveyor. The portion of track land used for the attempt had to be fairly flat since downhill slopes would have given Burner an unfair speed advantage. Dennis Smith of DDS Engineering said, “We worked the track backward in order to find Burner’s correct starting point to make sure that he wasn’t going downhill.” Smith added, “Although this was a routine job, it was the first time I have watched someone break a world record.”

Once the required protocols had been completed, it was time for Burner to step in. It’s important to note the current world record for the fastest mile driven in reverse was 97.02 seconds, set back in 2012.  On June 15, 2022, at the NCM Motorsports Park, and on his very first attempt, Scot Burner drove a stock C7 Corvette for one mile in reverse in just 83.19 seconds.  Burner tried a second time and ended with an even better time of 75.18 seconds, crushing the previous record by over 20 seconds, and will now hopefully be recorded in history as the world record time for the fastest mile in reverse!

After beating the previous record, Burner exclaimed “he chose the right car” and his “heart was still pumping” from the adrenaline of it all. He averaged about 45 miles per hour in reverse when he broke the record but hit a top speed of around 53 miles per hour.  Prior to June 15th, the farthest Burner had driven in reverse was roughly a quarter mile. His mile at the NCM Motorsports Park was also the first time he has completed backward turns.

Burner chose to attempt to break the world record at the NCM Motorsports Park because it felt fitting not only because he was driving a C7 Corvette but also because the course worked perfectly in relation to the standards set by Guinness. “We at the NCM Motorsports Park are honored to have had Scot attempt the Guinness World Record for the fastest reverse mile at our track. There is no better place in the world to achieve that honor in a Corvette than at the home of the Corvette,” said Greg Waldron, NCM Motorsports Park Executive Director.

Scot and the team at the NCM and MSP waited patiently for the official confirmation from Guinness that he broke the world record.  After just a few weeks, the happy news was announced.  Scot now holds the world record for the “Fastest Mile Driven in Reverse!”