The Fast and the Curious

Fossett said his greatest achievements still waited ahead, but he conceded that they would have to be different in scope. His hair had thinned and turned gray, and time had rounded out his face and midsection. He spoke in quiet, measured sentences and cocked his head sideways while listening. Late in his life, Fossett looked less like an athlete than a retired stock trader. No longer could he cross-country ski for 20 hours without stopping or go three consecutive nights without sleep. So, in the twilight of his career, Fossett searched for a new kind of challenge.

He never had considered retiring altogether. Without a major goal, Fossett asked, what else would occupy him? His life had unfolded for so long in a series of sporting exploits that Fossett and his achievements had fused together, a life story told in records and numbers.

On their second date, Fossett asked his eventual wife of 39 years to ride in his plane while he competed in an air show. He swam to Alcatraz in college, climbed the highest peak on six continents and finished the Ironman triathlon. In between adventures, he graduated from Stanford and started his own business. After making a personal fortune as a financial trader, he retired in 1990 and moved to Beaver Creek, where he could focus on setting records full-time.

For most of his adventures, Fossett learned a new sport, studied it to become an expert and then procured the best equipment possible. Fossett watched the Iditarod for five years before deciding to buy 27 dogs in 1992. He lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, to train for several months and eventually finished that year's race.

When Fossett became interested in speed sailing, he built a world-class boat and set 23 records from 1993 to 2004, including the circumnavigation of the world in just more than 58 days. He spent $17 million on a Cessna Citation X jet and flew across the United States, from San Diego to South Carolina, in less than three hours. In a glider plane, he climbed to 50,727 feet -- an absolute-altitude record, even though Fossett momentarily passed out when his oxygen mask malfunctioned.

He remained most proud of his records in ballooning, because they were the hardest to earn. It took Fossett six attempts to become the first person to circle the globe alone in a balloon, a 14-day journey during which he averaged three hours of sleep. One of Fossett's failed attempts ended when his balloon was caught in a storm at 29,000 feet and plummeted into the Coral Sea, where his capsule caught fire. He survived the fall and floated on a life raft in his long underwear for 23 hours during a thunderstorm. Finally, a sailor passed by and rescued him.

"I'm not an adrenaline junkie," Fossett said. "I don't necessarily get a thrill out of taking risks. I do this because I like challenging myself and stretching the boundaries of science."

Speed driving appealed to Fossett because it offered a plethora of numerical records, many of which had not been broken for a decade or longer. Even as he approached his mid-60s, Fossett said during a July phone conversation that he still could drive competitively for another 10 years. Age had robbed him of once-legendary endurance, but Fossett still felt capable of harnessing his effort in short, manic bursts. He could operate almost any machine for 30 minutes at a time, and speed records rarely required more.

Fossett had limited experience as a racecar driver, so he traveled to Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 2006 to test his aptitude. On a dry lake bed, Fossett borrowed a friend's modified car and pushed it faster than 300 mph on his second run. He climbed out of the cockpit, beaming, with the vague idea of breaking the 1997 land speed record of 763 mph.

He decided to pursue that mark officially a few months later. Craig Breedlove, a pioneer in land speed racing, had built a car that he planned to sell, and Fossett seized the opportunity. Breedlove had driven the jet-engine machine to 675 mph in 1996 before it skidded and flipped on its side. Miraculously, Breedlove had emerged unscathed, but the car had suffered considerable damage. With no sponsorship money to fix it, Breedlove eventually started to look for a buyer.

By the time Fossett showed interest, the machine had spent almost 10 years gathering rust in a moldy shop next to Breedlove's home in Rio Vista, Calif. Still, convinced of its potential, Fossett bought the car for an undisclosed amount and sought Breedlove's advice in assembling a team of technicians led by rocket scientist Eric Ahlstrom.

Fossett's friends lamented the purchase. He had built his reputation on records that measured in weeks, not seconds, and had survived by selecting adventures with limited risk. The land speed record was one of the world's most dangerous, credited with more accidents than successes. When he confided his plans to friend Richard Branson, the British tycoon warned that Fossett should author his autobiography first. Otherwise, he might not get the chance to write it.