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Bonneville Speed Week Filled With Winners
Written by Bill Moore  
Tuesday, 13 November 2007

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This is the Spirit of San Diego, one of the many cars preparing to make a Bonneville run.

For 2007, it was a wild and wooly Bonneville Speed Week -- with most of the wildness taking place just before the big annual event on the Salt Flats. 

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The advanced Fusion is in line for a fast run.

On a broad swatch of white salt crystals, the consistency of roughly ground Grape Nuts cereal . . . and looking like New England slush just north of Interstate 80 in Wendover, Utah, the Southern California Timing Association had its hands full. As the sanctioning body, the SCTA -- supported by about 100 volunteers -- has to prepare the courses, smooth them and mark them and . . . in some cases, wait for Mother Nature to cooperate. During the lead-up week, the SCTA was faced with an abundance of . . . water. Fortunately, the water (except for a two or three inch barrier just off the paved road that leads to the salt) evaporated in 90-degree days, and the SCTA crew was able to pull the event off. While folks from around the planet plan the trek to Bonneville every year, we made the run from Oakland in a brand-new Nissan 350Z Grand Touring sports car, perfect for the trip with a long array of comforts, good mileage and superb performance -- but see the story in our Reviews Section. 

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Forget streamliners, how about an old Buick!

This year the Ford Motor Co. brought two semis loaded with exotic chemicals, a big crew and then set a record of sorts by having their hydrogen fuel cell-powered Fusion hit 207.297 mph. But, since there was no class for this, it wasn't really a record, though the effort was impressive. 

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At Bonneville, before you can go, it's slow!

The racing started on August 11th, and on a daily basis the number of vehicles that had passed tech inspection grew . . . but so did the long line stretching to the start lines. Tow trucks and push trucks, drivers bare-chested, their driving suits wrapped around their waists, moved slowly forward.  Despite the crowded conditions, it was still a matter or survival on the white salt, the sun bearing down, the UV rays bouncing UP off the salt. You needed dark sunglasses, lots of sunblock, and a a broad-brimmed hat while drinking lots of liquids. Everyone you met out on the salt was carrying a bottle of water. Finally, later more often than sooner, the whole team got to the startline. Officials, dressed in white, positioned the vehicles, and then a push truck got them rolling toward a distant horizon. Take a look at these entries from the SCTA website to get an idea of what was happening out on the salt. 

August 13th, 2007 MondayThe weather was great heading into the late afternoon when a sudden thunderstorm swept through the salt flats.  There were 466 runs on both courses.  18 vehicles were certified for records for a total of 52.  We have inspected and registered 457 vehicles, 319 cars and 138 bikes.  August 16th, 2007The weather was very hot and humid.  There were 378 runs on both courses.  32 vehicles were certified for records for a total of 166.  We have inspected and registered 552 vehicles (including 52 Class Changes), 377 cars and 175 bikes.  Photos and results can be viewed by selecting the "2007 Results" link under the Bonneville label.

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An SCTA official gives this car the go signal.

Well, that gives you an idea. But you have to realize that there are an amazing number of classes of cars, trucks and special speed vehicles all competing. After paying a $325 entry fee and passing tech inspection, everyone got a chance to run the salt. In all, there were over 170 records set during Speedweek. The fastest time of the meet was No. 998, the Nish Streamliner, with an exit speed of 385.557 mph. This was driven by Mike Nish of Salt Lake City, Utah. The slowest  record was a 50cc motorcycle driven by Kimberly Kelly of Los Angeles, California, which was clocked (with an egg timer) at a speed of 33.483 mph. On that topic, SCTA Registrar JoAnn Carlson said, "Good GOD, my electric golf cart goes faster than that!"  

Some of the vehicles competing were full-blown engineering projects, like Ford's hydrogen fuel-cell-powered Fusion, which was helped along by Jack Roush Racing and Ohio State University. You can imagine the expense of not only working out the bugs on this technologically advanced approach, but then bringing the car and crew together on the salt all the way from Dearborn, Michigan. 

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Yes, this man has just gone over 200 MPH.

At the other extreme -- and most record attempts are relatively low-cost efforts -- is this impressive approach: Instead of a roadster, a rat rod or a streamliner, the Raver Motorsports entry (built by Greg Carlson) was a 1992 Mitsubishi Galant 4-door sedan driven by 71-year- old Ron Cochran. This full-size (think shoebox) stock-bodied sedan running in G/PS (G=2.0-liter engine, 120 cubic inches -- Production Supercharged) produced in excess of 600 horsepower at the wheels. It is All-Wheel Drive, and set a new record of 203.4 mph, making it, we believe, the first 4-door sedan over 200 and for sure the first 2.0-liter production class sedan over 200 mph. 

Now you have to understand, there IS a bit of rivalry (maybe resentment) from the traditional land speed enthusiasts and the major manufacturers -- no matter how long those big companies have actually been competing in motorsports. And, as an aside, the Fusion had the No. 999 on it, commemorating the fact that Barney Oldfield had taken one of Henry Ford's early cars (Old No. 999) for a fast run on the Daytona Beach sand. That had been a record- setting run and we guess the feeling was that the hydrogen-powered Fusion was another significant moment for FoMoCo.  

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Ron Cochran is congratulated by friends.

In any case, the run with the $20,000 Mitsubishi put Cochran in the prestigious 200 MPH Club (accomplished by making two back-to-back runs at over 200). But, JoAnn Carlson heard this conversation in the staging lanes:  A TV crew was hovering around the Ford entry (cameraman and a guy with a microphone) interviewing the Ford crew and some spectators. The guy with the mic turned to some guy standing in the crowd and said something to this effect: "What do you think of this marvelous Ford car?” The guy said, “Not much -- this is a multi-million dollar car, not a Hot Rod, but right behind it is a '32 Ford Roadster that might go 200 mph. Now, THAT’S interesting!"

Ford retiree Rick Byrnes, a veteran Bonneville racer, piloted the Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 on its record breaking run. And afterwards, Gerhard Schmidt, vice president, Research & Advanced Engineering for Ford Motor Company, said, “What we’ve accomplished is nothing short of an industry first. No other automaker in the world has come close. We are excited to have accomplished something never before done. We established this project to advance fuel-cell-powered vehicles and to do what has never been done before; and we did it.”  

On the other side of the coin, sunburned and tired, you can imagine Ron Cochran climbing out of the Mitsubishi and saying something like: "Hey, I need a beer!" 

In both cases, the need to exceed had brought both camps to the white salt, and in their own ways, each had succeeded. 

Got a hankering for salt racing? Why not mark the date on your calendar right now: Speed Week 2008 is set for August 18th-24th, with tech inspection on Sunday, the 17th. For more information, check the Southern California Timing Association website at http://www.scta-bni.org/.

Last Updated ( Friday, 19 September 2008 )
 
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