There’s little denying that we live in an age of true nostalgia, brought back to life. What was once old is now new again. From fashion to films (Star Wars and Mad Max, anyone?), music to architecture, and even automobile design, every decade from the 1950s to the 90s can be identified in society in some shape or form. But not even the return of Han Solo and Yoda can top the resurgence of rocket cars in drag racing that we’re currently witnessing.

Written off for dead in the 1980s, drag racing fans in the United States haven’t seen a rocket car blast down a quarter-mile for the better part of three decades — that is, until octogenarian Captain Jack McClure re-debuted his famous rocket-powered go kart in Georgia last year, reigniting (no pun intended) interest in these cars that once wowed crowds at strips all across the country. Of course, the common misconception is that these cars — with records in the threes at over 400 mph that still stand to this day — were ruled out of existence by the HRA’s and insurance companies, but that would be false. In fact, it was the lack of availability of the hydrogen peroxide fuel used in the engines that made them virtually extinct. But the cars, the engines, and the people behind them never fully gave up on bringing these unbelievable machines back, and now at a time when retro is in, they’ve gotten their hands on the fuel and aren’t looking back.

Images credit: Kurt Anderson/Facebook

Two years ago, European racer Eric Teboul brought his world record-holding rocket-powered motorcycle to the United States and made the quickest two-wheeled run in history with an early-shutoff run of 5.12 seconds at 264 mph. Then last year, American McClure, at the age of 88, made planned eighth-mile runs on his kart, running into the four-second zone. And now, a team comprised of former rocket pilots and rocket car builders are making their return, which will be marked by a second test session at the Brainerd International Raceway later this month (the team had an initial test there last fall).

Kurt Anderson will pilot the updated Sonic Stinger rocket dragster, with Ky Michealson heading up the safety team, along with legendary rocket pilot Ed Balinger (who once drove the Conklin Comet, Astron Invader, Galaxy Crusader, and Chicago Patrol Rocket Funny Car) and Vern Anderson (of Pollution Packer and American Dream fame). Combined, these gentlemen have in excess of 500 runs down a race track in a rocket car, and all have broken records at one time or another in what are by far the quickest and fastest machines in drag racing history.

Curt Michaelson, Buddy Michaelson, Kevin O’Kelly, Mike Holdridge, Dan Jordan, and Tim Keseluk will serve as the crew on the Sonic Stinger.

Anderson will be joined by McClure and his rocket kart for the test, which will mark the largest gathering of rocket-powered cars on American soil in decades. The test is scheduled for May 29th in Brainerd, with testing set to run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

What the future holds for rocket cars in the sport remains to be seen, as it’s a topic that sanctioning bodies, race tracks, and insurance companies likely believed they’d never have to approach again. But decades later, history is repeating itself, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that this is only the beginning. After all, there’s an entire generation of Americans that have never witnessed a rocket-powered race car in person. That, and a lot of folks would be willing to pay damn good money to see it.