Motorsports Consultant and Technical Author

John Baechtel is a 40-year industry veteran with solid high-performance credentials. As a former editor of Car Craft Magazine and Executive Editor of Hot Rod Magazine, John (JB)  has pretty much seen and done it all. During his 17 year tenure at the world’s premier performance magazines, John supervised and built an endless stream of magazine project cars and test engines while also authoring numerous books and special editions on performance engines and race car construction.

In addition to formidable performance car and engine building accomplishments, he has authored more than 1,300 performance magazine articles and numerous technical books on engine building and performance car construction. John is an SCTA and FIA international speed record holder at Bonneville and a  member of the Bonneville 200 MPH Club. He also piloted the Car Craft Cobra 200 Mustang project car through the 200 mph barrier to mark the first-ever excursion of a production-based Mustang over 200 MPH.

Later, he founded one of the west coast’s premier engine dyno testing facilities serving the high-performance aftermarket and the performance publishing industry. More recently he was the driving force behind the restoration of the Summers Brother Goldenrod land speed record holder for the Henry Ford Museum.

He formerly served as a performance consultant to Pontiac Motorsports in the eighties when their IMSA GTP-Lights cars captured the prestigious Daytona 24 hour race. In this capacity, he established his own separate publishing company to produce manuals and performance literature for the Pontiac racing effort.

John currently owns the Landspeed Media Group, a publishing firm that operates automotive technical and enthusiast web sites like www.hotrodenginetech.com. He also operates his Prodyne Technologies motorsports consulting business and his Landspeed Restorations business which preserves and restores historic race cars like the Summers Brothers Goldenrod.

And finally, he has also assumed the duties of Public Relations Director and Event Coordinator for Mike Cook’s Bonneville Shootout, the official FIA/FIM international world speed record event held annually on the Bonneville Salt flats.

2011 Gold Medal Award winner for excellence in automotive writing. Awarded for the book:

Performance Automotive Engine Math

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2015 Gold Medal Award winner for excellence in automotive writing. Awarded for the internet article:

Why is the Speed Demon So Damn Fast?
http://hotrodenginetech.com/why-is-the-speed-demon-so-damned-fast/

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2015 Bronze Medal Award winner for excellence
in automotive writing. Awarded for the book:

Practical Engine Airflow