A racecar that was built in the southside to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary now owns a land speed record. The VA 250 car that was built in Martinsville set the new stock car land speed record on Monday by hitting 253 mph at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

The car was built in Martinsville by Joey Arrington and was driven by Ridgeway native Tommy Hurley. The previous record of 244.9 mph was set in 2007, by a Dodge Charger that Arrington built the motor for.

The body inspiration for the car was a 1969 Dodge Daytona Charger. The chassis for the car is Ronnie Hopkins 2006 NASCAR chassis. For more information on the car click here.