Penske-Jasper Racing’s Brendan Gaughan carved out a niche for himself and Dodge in the “Guinness Book of World Records” Monday, establishing the Dodge Ram SRT-10 as the “World’s Fastest Production Pickup Truck.”

Gaughan posted a two-lap, both-directions average speed of 154.587 mph over a “flying kilometer” on the 4.71-mile oval at the DaimlerChrysler Proving Grounds in Chelsea, Mich. The record run by Gaughan and the Dodge Ram SRT-10, which recently left the assembly line in Saltillo, Mexico, and wasn’t modified in any way for additional power or enhanced aerodynamics, was certified by Guinness World Records and the SCCA. The previous record was 147.54 mph, set last July by the Ford SVT F-150 Lightning before the Dodge Ram SRT-10 went into production.

Hein Le Roux, research team member at Guinness World Records, traveled from the company’s London headquarters to monitor the record run.

“I’ve driven some fast trucks, but I’ve certainly never experienced anything like setting a Guinness world record,” says Gaughan, a six-time winner in a Dodge Ram in the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series who is making his Nextel Cup Series debut in the No. 77 Kodak Dodge later this month at Daytona. "I’ve known for a long time that the Dodge Ram is the ultimate truck for the race track, and this certainly proves the Ram SRT-10 is the ultimate performance truck for the street.”

Guinness World Records rules state the record speed had to be the average of two one-kilometer runs in opposite directions along the same track, made within an hour of one another. The timing equipment had to be certified as accurate to within 1/1000th of a second, and supplied and operated by a qualified third party. The speed of each run was timed by means of sensors at the start and finish of the measured kilometer, thus giving an average speed over the entire distance.

“When we set out to develop the Dodge Ram SRT-10, our mission was to create the ultimate performance truck,” said Dan Knott, director, street and racing technology. “With 500 horsepower, sports car-like handling, world-class braking and race-inspired design appointments, we know we reached our goal. Setting the Guinness record simply confirms that, and solidifies the Ram SRT-10 as the ultimate – and fastest – performance pickup.”

The Dodge Ram SRT-10 is the third Dodge vehicle branded with the Street and Racing Technology label, following the Dodge Viper SRT-10 and the award-winning 230 horsepower Dodge SRT-4.

From Penske Racing