MADISON – A Guinness World Record was set today at 3 p.m. CST at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Driver Apollo Timbers, 33, of Sedalia, Missouri, set a world record of 30 miles per hour for the world’s fastest Radio Flyer wagon. (Since there was no previous record or attempt, any speed attained today would have set a world record.)
The world record attempt was produced by Kevin Schaller of Craftsmen Industries of St. Charles, Missouri. Craftsmen fabricates special displays and vehicles, including the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
Speed was monitored by officers from the Glen Carbon, Illinois, police department. Outside air temperature: 42 degrees (sunny, slight breeze).
The world record attempt has a noble cause: to aid Shriners Hospital for Children in St. Louis. Years ago, Schaller, as a single father, was aided by Shriners Hospital when his son was admitted there for treatment.
“They lived their mission of providing the best of care for my family when I was at my lowest in terms of financial ability,” said Schaller. “I’ll never forget that, and I’ll never stop trying to pay it forward. The thing I remember most about those fearful moments of having a sick child was the smile on his face as he was transported through the hospital in a donated Radio Flyer wagon. Even when we both were scared, those moments in that wagon, my son got to be a kid, not just a sick kid.”
The driver, Timbers, himself was a “Shriners kid.”
