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What’s the fastest speed ever recorded on Ga. 400?

Traffic on Georgia 400
Photograph by Davel5957/getty

If you’re talking about the fastest car, look no further than November 12, 2017, when police pulled over a McLaren 720S that topped out at 155 miles per hour. After a late-night pursuit through Roswell and Sandy Springs, the driver made an abrupt stop and pulled to the shoulder. (The roughly $250,000 car’s brakes were smoking.) After failing a field sobriety test, the driver was placed under arrest for speeding, reckless driving, DUI, and other charges. Famous last words from the suspect after being placed in the cop car, as heard on the dashcam video the department posted to its YouTube channel: “Oh my God. Fuuuuuck.”

The award for fastest speed, clocked by Alpharetta police, goes to a motorcyclist who managed to hit 163 miles per hour this past August. According to a news report, officers opted not to pursue the speed demon because it was too dangerous but came upon him at a red light on Holcomb Bridge Road. The motorcyclist, a 30-year-old man from Cumming, told officers he was “just out for a ride” and didn’t know he was traveling so fast.

This article appears in our November 2019 issue.