Bonneville Speedway

Bonneville Speedway (also known as the Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track) is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats northeast of Wendover, Utah in the United States, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed records. The Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The salt flats were first used for motor sports in 1912, but did not become truly popular until the 1930s when Ab Jenkins and Sir Malcolm Campbell competed to set land speed records.

A reduction of available racing surface and salt thickness has led to the cancellation of events at Bonneville, such as Speed Week in 2014 and 2015. Available racing surface is much reduced with just available instead of the courses traditionally used for Speed Week.

Track layouts

Historically, the speedway was marked out by the Utah Department of Transportation at the start of each summer. Originally, two tracks were prepared; a long straightaway for speed trials and an oval or circular track for distance runs, which was typically between long depending on the condition of the salt surface.

Since at least the 1990s, track preparations have been the responsibility of the event organizers. Days or weeks in advance, the track preparers identify an area best suited for their track layouts and begin grading the tracks. Surveyors are brought in to survey the timing trap distances. A day before racing begins, the track markers are added.

Originally, the straightaway was marked with a broad black line down its center. This was eventually changed to lines down either side, as the center line wore out too quickly. As the costs for painting the lines has gone up, organizations have switched to flags and cones as track markers. The last event to use black lines was Speed Week, August 2009.

The number of tracks and the timed sections for each track are set according to what is most beneficial for each event. Large public meets such as Speed Week run as many as four tracks with several timed miles, usually starting with the second mile and running to the fifth mile. Smaller meets that typically only run world record attempts will utilize a single track, with one timed mile and one timed kilometer in the middle of the track. Additional marks and cones indicate the end of the track and the position of timing equipment.

Deteriorating track conditions

The annual Speed Week was cancelled in both 2014 and 2015, as were many land-speed racing events, due to deteriorating track conditions. Heavy rains caused a layer of mud from surrounding mountains to flow onto the flats, covering approximately of the track. Although another section of the flats would normally be used, nearby salt mining operations had reduced the size of the alternative track.

The depth of the salt crust at Bonneville has also been decreasing, possibly leaching into a saltwater aquifer. Measured at as much at in the 1940s and 50s, it has been reduced to just in 2015.

Though recent studies have been made (since 1960), the causes of this deterioration are not clear, although the evidence points toward both local climatic changes and salt mining. Some strategies were devised to revert the decreasing salt surface, such as pumping back salt, though this had no effect.

Events and meetings In August, the Southern California Timing Association and Bonneville Nationals Inc. organize Speed Week, the largest meet of the year, which attracts several hundred drivers who compete to set highest speed in a range of categories. Bonneville Speed Week has been taking place since 1949.

In late August, the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials are held.

In September each year is the World of Speed, (similar to Speed Week) organized by the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association (USFRA). The USFRA also hosts a "Test-n-Tune" event in the summer prior to the World of Speed.

In October, the Southern California Timing Association puts on World Finals, a scaled-down version of Speed Week. This event tends to have cooler weather and often drier salt than Speed Week does. There are less spectators and it tends to draw serious racers, as this event is the last chance to break a land speed record and be in the SCTA record book for that year.

Each year, there are usually a few private meets that are not publicized scattered among the larger public meets.

Land speed records Numerous land speed records in various vehicle categories and classes have been set on the Bonneville speed way. In 1960, Mickey Thompson became the first American to break the barrier, hitting and surpassing John Cobb's 1947 one-way Land speed record of . Other notable examples of Bonneville speed records include:

Year Driver Vehicle Speed mph Speed km/h Class (category) Notes 1935 Sir Malcolm Campbell Blue Bird 301.129484.620 [data needed] 1947 Don Waite The Edelbrock Special 192309 [data needed] 1954 George J Smith Harley-Davidson knucklehead 152.02244.652 [data needed] Modified 91 ci knucklehead / alcohol 1963 Craig Breedlove Spirit of America 407.447655.722 [data needed] 1963 Dick Beith Pepco 36 hp VW Lakester 129.68208.700 K36 Unlimited Pepco supercharged 36 hp based engine in a "Lakester" style car fashioned from a WWII aircraft belly tank 1964 Art Arfons The Green Monster 434.022664.694 [data needed] 1965 Craig Breedlove Spirit of America — Sonic 1 600.601966.574 [data needed] 1967 Burt Munro Indian Scout V-Twin184.037296.179 under 1,000 cc 1970 Gary Gabelich Blue Flame622.4071001.67 [data needed] 1971 Warner Riley Harley-Davidson Sportster206.544332.400 APS-AF 2000 S&S Modified 96 ci Sportster/nitromethane 1985 Dan Kinsey Tenacious Streamliner276.51444.999 S-F 2000 S&S Modified 114 ci shovelhead/nitromethane 1991 Dan Kinsey Tramp III Harley-Davidson226.148363.949 APS-AF 2000 S&S Modified 114 ci Evolution big twin/nitromethane 2001 Don VescoVesco Turbinator — Turbine Engine458.443737.395 [data needed] 2004 R. SchroerBuckeye Bullet — Electric Vehicle 314.958524.930 [data needed] 2006 Andy GreenJCB Dieselmax — Diesel Streamliner350.092 563.418 FIA A-III-13 World's Fastest Diesel 2006 Laura KlockHarley-Davidson Road Glide143.659 231.197 MPS-PF 3000 "World's Fastest Bagger" 2007 Erika CobbBuell Blast107 172.2 MPS-PG 500 2007 Laura KlockHarley-Davidson Road Glide146.297 235.442 MPS-PF 3000 "World's Fastest Bagger" 2008 Karlee CobbBuell Blast109.867 176.814 MPS-PG 500 Youngest person in the world at the time the record was set to hold a land speed record 2009 Erika CobbBuell XB9 Firebolt126.383 203.394 P-PP 1000 2009 Karlee CobbBuell Blast115 185.075 MPS-PG 500 2009 Laura KlockVictory Vision122 196.34 MP-2000 2009 Michelle MielkeYamaha Warrior143.154 230.384 M-P-2000 2009 Michelle MielkeYamaha Warrior143.725 231.303 MPS-P 2000 2010 Erika CobbBuell136.476 219.637 P-PP 1000 2010 Erika CobbHarley-Davidson Dyna with ProCharger143.542 231.008 M-PBF 1650 2010 Erika CobbHarley-Davidson Dyna with ProCharger141 226.918 M-BF 1650 2010 Karlee CobbHarley-Davidson Dyna with ProCharger151.754 244.224 M-BG 1650 2010 Chris DegenHarley-Davidson127.571 205.306 P-PP 1350 2010 Charles Nearburg Spirit of Rett 414.316666.776 [data needed] 2011 Erika CobbHarley-Davidson Dyna-Mite143.542 231.008 M-P-BF 1650 2011 Karlee CobbHarley-Davidson Dyna-Mite151.754 244.224 M-BG 1650 2012 Jeff Bailey 1994 Harley-Davison Buell S2226.148322.797 APS-AF 3000 S&S 160 ci Prostock engine/gasoline 2012 Brian Klock Harley-Davidson Dyna-Mite 154 247.839 MP-BG 1650 2012 Brandon Nozaki Miller 2012 Zero Motorcycles S ZF6 — Lightweight (under 150 kg) Unfaired Electric Motorcycle 102.281 164.605 First production electric motorcycle to break 100 mph 2016 Roger Schroer Venturi Buckeye Bullet 3 341.4 549.43 FIA A-VIII-8 Fastest electric vehicle 2016 Bob Sirna Mercedes-Benz 300 SL 190.759 306.997 FIA A-VIII-8 3L Sport cars 2018 Shigeru Yamashita Kawasaki Ninja H2 209.442 337.06 P-PB 1000 Fastest street-legal production motorcycle 2020 George Poteet Speed Demon 715 streamliner 470.733 757.571 AA/BFS 557 CI twin-turbo Chevy

Cycling records

Several motor-paced racing speed records have been attempted at Bonneville.

In 1985, American cyclist John Howard set a then world record of .

On 15 October 1995, Dutch cyclist Fred Rompelberg achieved , using a special bicycle behind a dragster with a large shield.

In 2016, Denise Mueller-Korenek claimed a women's bicycle land speed record at . She was coached by Howard. It is not clear which authority was supervising the record attempt.

In 2018, Mueller-Korenek broke her own women's record and the men's record at a speed of .

In popular culture In the 2003 film The Brown Bunny, Bud Clay races his motorcycle at the speedway. In the 2005 film The World's Fastest Indian, Burt Munro and his highly modified Indian Scout motorcycle sets a world record. In the 2015 series finale episode of Mad Men, Donald Draper drives a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS muscle car in the races at Bonneville Speedway.

Bonneville Speedway

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