Photo courtesy of Office of Del. Terry Austin
By Matt de Simone
Four months after helping shatter the world stock car land-speed record, Joey Arrington isn’t dwelling on the number that made headlines.
Instead, the legendary Martinsville engine builder is talking about the students he hopes will one day build something even faster.
“It’s excitement,” Arrington said. “You’ve got to keep the youth excited to keep their attention. Especially if they see the accomplishments at the end, they’ve got something to shoot for.”
For Arrington, former Martinsville Mayor Danny Turner and Del. Terry Austin, that has become the lasting purpose behind the VA250 Car Project. While the specially built “Virginia Missile” established a new world stock car land-speed record of 253 mph earlier this year, the trio believes the project’s greatest achievement may ultimately be inspiring young Virginians to pursue careers in engineering, manufacturing and the skilled trades while showcasing the Commonwealth’s contributions to both its past and future.
The project was conceived as part of Virginia’s commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary, offering a different way to celebrate the Commonwealth’s history than traditional museums or historic landmarks.
“Not everybody in the United States likes old buildings and history,” Austin said. “But the 250th anniversary is not only about old buildings and history. It’s about the 250th anniversary of our nation.”
Austin said organizers wanted Virginia’s semiquincentennial celebration to reflect every region of the Commonwealth and the unique stories each has to tell.
“We wanted something in every region of the state that showed that we were investing in history in every region of the state,” he said. “Southside’s got a history of racing.”
That vision began taking shape as project organizers met with Austin to discuss pairing Virginia’s rich motorsports heritage with the state’s anniversary celebration.
Austin still remembers the initial meeting.
“They asked me to [help] kick off the money,” he recalled. “When they left, I asked Matt, who works with me, ‘What do you think about this project?'”
The response helped cement Austin’s support.
“He said, ‘Not everybody likes old buildings and history. NASCAR fans are patriotic.'”
Once he saw the plan come to fruition, Austin said, “I was instantly impressed.”
That early investment helped launch a project that eventually grew into a statewide collaboration.
For Arrington, however, success would ultimately be determined on a runway nearly 700 miles away.
The team chose Kennedy Space Center’s Launch and Landing Facility rather than the famed Bonneville Salt Flats, where previous stock car records had been established.
Arrington said there was a practical reason.
The 2006 record-setting car—whose engine he also built—eventually deteriorated because of repeated exposure to the salt.
“I said, ‘No, I’m not going to take it there,'” Arrington recalled.
Instead, the team located the former space shuttle runway, giving the team a smooth, three-mile surface on which to pursue the record.
Looking back, Arrington describes the day with characteristic understatement.
“You know, it’s a sport,” he said. “Whether you win the basketball game, football game or whatever, you won that event that day. We had to break the record first, which was 244.9, and then we had to make sure we were over 250. Everything just fell into place.”
Although Arrington has spent decades building championship-caliber engines and was involved with the previous stock car land-speed record, he said this accomplishment ranks above the others because the team had a hand in every aspect of the vehicle.
“It was number one because we were more involved with it—from the front bumper to the rear bumper, and certainly under the hood,” he added.
Austin watched the record attempt unfold in person and came away impressed not only by the speed but by the preparation behind it.
“They rolled that car off the trailer, jacked it up, put the tires on it, put the fairing on the bottom, filled it up, put water in the radiator, took it out there and it made nine runs and never had such a fault,” Austin recalled. “The second run, it broke the record.”
For him, the flawless execution reflected Arrington’s decades of experience.
“To me, that showed me his knowledge and skill—that he knew what he was doing,” Austin said.
Yet as the conversation turned from the record itself, Arrington repeatedly steered it toward education.
Turner described partnering with engineering students from the University of Virginia, who analyzed data gathered during the car’s development and even recommended adjustments to the parachute configuration after reviewing the results.
“They came back with a different tilt on the parachutes that actually helped,” Arrington said.
The trio sees those experiences as every bit as important as the record itself.
“When I was in school, I couldn’t focus on anything that didn’t make any sense to me,” Arrington said. “All of a sudden, if you can connect the dots– the sound, the excitement, the buildup before you get there– it keeps their attention.”
He hopes students who encounter the Virginia Missile see more than a race car.
“It draws attention from a standpoint of motorsports,” he said. “Then we can sort of show what we can accomplish in Southside Virginia.”
Austin agreed, saying the project demonstrates that innovation remains part of Virginia’s identity.
“I think what’s inspiring to me is his willingness to do something with his time, energy and knowledge that benefits the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Austin said of Arrington.
That educational mission will continue as the Virginia Missile travels to appearances around the region.
Arrington said one of the next major stops will be Virginia International Raceway in Alton, where the team expects to interact with students and racing enthusiasts alike..
“We’re expecting a lot of kids,” he said.
He hopes those conversations leave a lasting impression.
“The biggest thing they would take away is excitement,” Arrington added. “If they see the accomplishments at the end, they’ve got something to shoot for.”
For Austin, the project has become another chapter in Virginia’s story.
As lawmakers and local communities commemorate the nation’s founding through historical sites, reenactments and educational programs, he believes projects like the Virginia Missile broaden the conversation by highlighting achievements that reflect the Commonwealth’s enduring spirit of innovation.
“We’ve got a proud history here,” Austin said.
That history, he noted, stretches from the Fincastle Resolves and the Revolutionary War to Southside Virginia’s rich motorsports tradition.
For Arrington, those connections matter because they remind people that history isn’t only something preserved in museums.
Sometimes, it’s built in a race shop.
Sometimes, it’s tested on a runway.
And sometimes, it inspires the next generation to imagine what might be possible if they keep asking questions, solving problems and chasing something that has never been done before.
The record of 253 mph secured the Virginia Missile’s place in motorsports history.
But for the men who envisioned it, built it and championed it, the project’s real legacy may be measured by the young Virginians who decide to write the next chapter.
