According to KCRA, Matranga raised his gas-division record by 17 mph to 308 mph and reached 310 mph in the fuel division, surpassing a fuel-division mark of 305 mph that had stood for eight years. An official Bonneville Vehicles Daily Runs sheet from Aug. 1, 2026 lists Matranga’s entry, number 651, with a fastest recorded figure of 307.646 mph — a number that doesn’t line up precisely with KCRA’s reported 310 mph figure, though both accounts describe speeds in the same range for the same driver that day.
Matranga told the station he’s been obsessed with speed for almost all his life, and the résumé backs that up. He’s raced on dragstrips, circle tracks and the Bonneville Salt Flats, per HOT ROD, and he’s not new to the 200 mph club either — Bonneville’s own membership records show him joining in 1971 at 224.806 mph, with his recorded speed since climbing to 291.215 mph. He’s also the owner and president of Sherm’s Custom Plating, the same HOT ROD profile notes.
A Car That Fights Back at 300 MPH
The Barracuda isn’t an easy machine to tame. Matranga said the ride is sometimes difficult to handle, and the car doesn’t settle down until roughly halfway through Bonneville’s five-mile course, stabilizing around the 2.5-mile mark. Even past 300 mph, the car keeps moving around and demands constant input from the driver just to hold a line.
Powering the effort is a twin-turbocharged Hemi engine with more than 500 cubic inches of displacement and over 2,400 horsepower, and the team believes engine tweaks could push the car’s speed up to 340 mph. Car chief Glen Hutchison said the crew sets goals and feels driven to fulfill them, and the plan now is to spend the winter testing the Barracuda’s engine in search of more power, all while working nights and weekends around members’ day jobs…