Long before a wheel-driven, piston-powered drag racing vehicle ever sniffed the  four-second or 300 MPH barriers on the quarter mile, some of the most legendary names the sport has ever seen had already surpassed both of these milestones piloting cars utilizing rocket propulsion.

In fact, not only did they blow the nitro-powered Top Fuel Dragster and Funny Cars of the time period out of the water, but blazed to elapsed times and speeds that have never been approached and will undoubtedly ever be touched.

In 1977, Texas native ad former stuntwoman Kitty O’Neil drove one of the legendary “Rocket Man” Ky Michaelson’s hydrogen peroxide-powered dragsters to the quickest standing quarter-mile in history at an incredible 3.22 seconds at just – repeat, JUST – 396 miles per hour. O’Neil would also add a 412 MPH trap speed to her driving resume; also an absolute record that still stands to this day.

Unfortunately, following a number of tragic deaths and injuries and the increasing concern of safety for both the drivers and the fans, rocket and hydrogen peroxide exhibition vehicles were banned entirely within the United States in the 1980’s, depriving generations of racing fans to come from ever witnessing such an incredible display of acceleration and speed from what were, at least intended to be, land-locked missiles.

Other nations continued to allow the use of such propulsion power in exhibition roles, allowing for the capture of some great footage of their incredible power, and while you won’t see any three-second runs being displayed on the web, you certainly get the jist of just what this had to be like to see, hear, and feel back in the 1970’s and 80’s.