[3][5][6] Bill Warner began land speed racing his unfaired, normally aspirated 1,650 cc (101 cu in) Yamaha V-max in March 2007, with a run in Maxton, North Carolina, which placed him in the East Coast Timing Association (ECTA) Maxton 200 MPH Club.

The same year, Warner built, with the consultation of Bonneville motorcycle racer Larry Forstall, a set of Modified-class fiberglass fairings for his Hayabusa.

With this bodywork, plus sponsorship and managerial support from Walt Kudron, he set the Maxton track record on the standing mile at the ECTA meet in May 2010, going 272.374 mph (438.343 km/h).

[12] His motorcycle veered off the course and struck a 6" concrete landing light pedestal and he was thrown a great distance.

Warner was conscious after the crash, but he was pronounced dead at Cary Medical Center in Caribou, Maine.