Found this on the NYTimes website this morning, and thought it was worthwhile to share. See Article Here Sunshine, Salt and Speed: The Fastest Show on Earth By LINDSAY BROOKE Published: September 10, 2006 BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS, Utah A Ford Highboy roadster on the salt, where speed records exist to be broken. Salt racers favor variations on traditional shapes like the seriously streamlined Studebaker. The fastest car this year, at 410 m.p.h., was the Burkland familys streamliner. BOOMING past the last mile marker of a ruler-straight course on this ancient lake bed, traveling at more than 400 miles an hour, Al Teague pulled the parachute release lever to slow his streamliner, simultaneously fulfilling the final request of a hot-rodding buddy. On that day four years ago, tucked within the folds of cloth, were the ashes of Gray Baskerville, a champion of all things ***ociated with the Salt Flats. Baskerville, a writer for Hot Rod magazine, had died in February 2002 at age 66. It was exactly what Gray would have wanted, said Mr. Teague, holder of a speed record with the Spirit of 76, a low-slung dart of a car engineered for nothing but top-speed trials. I got the feeling that my high speed would have made him happy. To those who have been touched by Bonnevilles high-speed mystique, neither Baskervilles career-long devotion to this eerily flat expanse, nor Mr. Teagues homage, would be a surprise. The 3,000-square-mile salt plain 120 miles west of Salt Lake City, bisected by Interstate 80, is one of the few places on earth suited to driving vehicles as fast as they can go. The great bleach-white expanse is what remains of an enormous inland sea that evaporated 14,000 years ago. Since the 1930s its fragile surface and the thin atmosphere at the 4,200-foot elevation, which saps engine power has challenged the speediest cars, trucks and motorcycles. Still, drivers return each August seeking records at ever-greater velocities. If you like making cars go fast, this place is addictive, said Ed Iskenderian, a hot-rodding pioneer who first attended Bonneville contests in 1950 and continues to make the annual pilgrimage. Nearly 500 entrants gathered here last month for Speed Week, one of the few times of the year when the salt is used to establish official records. The 2006 turnout was the biggest ever, drawing vehicles ranging from prewar Fords to diminutive lakesters with bodies shaped like the fuel tanks once seen under the wings of fighter planes. There were 50s Studebakers stretched like taffy to cheat the wind, and everything from Toyota econoboxes to Corvette-powered Porsches to ground-s****ing motorcycles testing their engines against electronic timers. Even a Ferrari F40 turned out. More than 150 records were set in dozens of cl***es, encomp***ing every imaginable combination of vehicle and engine, from tiny 50-cc motorbikes to a mammoth Freightliner truck powered by a 4,000-horsepower V-16 diesel said to have begun life in a tugboat. This improbable rig, lowered and modified unlike anything one might see on the Interstate, is a perennial favorite, thundering down the salt at more than 220 m.p.h. The streamliner cl*** is a showcase of the swiftest machines on wheels. This years star was the Dieselmax streamliner entered by JCB, a British maker of construction equipment. Powered by a pair of heavily modified four-cylinder diesel engines from the companys backhoes, the 29-foot-long projectile was driven by Andy Green, holder of the absolute land-speed record in a jet-powered car at 763 m.p.h. (set in Nevada, alas, not at Bonneville). Mr. Green, a Royal Air Force wing commander, is a superstar in the community. Overcoming five days of technical gremlins that kept speeds below 230 m.p.h., the JCB car finally set a record of 350.092 m.p.h. to become the worlds fastest diesel vehicle (or, as many kidded, the fastest backhoe). Diesel was not the only alternative fuel at Bonneville this year. Mark ****ens, a General Motors engineer, set several cl*** records driving Chevrolet Cobalt SS coupes; one (reaching 156 m.p.h.) was the first to be powered by an E85 ethanol blend. The best combination of salt surface and weather in 10 years created excellent race conditions and helped pack the entry list, said Buddy James, a longtime starting line steward. But with so many vehicles queued up to run on the two courses a three-mile straightaway for machines capable of up to 175 m.p.h. and a five-mile course for the fastest cars waited hours for their next chance. Even those in line at 7 a.m. when each days action began might make just two runs before the courses closed at 5 p.m. Official Bonneville records are determined by averaging two runs, as supervised by the Southern California Timing ***ociation, which organizes Speed Week and operates the electronic timers. Once a vehicle makes a qualifying run that tops the existing record, it is impounded until the next mornings record run. For most of the tanned-and-wrinkled regulars as well as what seemed to be an infusion of fresh blood in hot imports creeping slowly to the starting line under the scorching sun is simply part of the routine. A strong gr***-roots ethic and amateur-racing spirit underpin Speed Week and the few other events held at Bonneville. Compe***ors routinely lend a hand to one another, along with advice and tools. Bonneville is more than a hobby to many of these racers; its their life, said Louise Ann Noeth, a Salt Flats historian and former professional drag racer known universally as Landspeed Louise. They return because money and marketing have not yet put their stamp on the salt. The Flats amateur racers can be mildly contemptuous of professional record efforts. Participation by big companies, including efforts this year by G.M. and JCB (which had two huge tractor-trailers in its pit area), attract the most scorn. Sometimes we might resent the money the factory teams spend for their projects, because we dont have those funds, said Mr. Teague, whose 409.978 m.p.h. attained in 1991 is still the international record for wheel-driven vehicles powered by a single piston engine. They have engineers and aerodynamicists, Mr. Teague said. We do our work in our garages after work. Land-speed racing demands other commitments. The first challenge is transportation. Taking a rental car onto the corrosive salt risks stiff added charges from agencies in Utah and Nevada, who now carefully examine the cars undersides and interiors when they are returned. There is only one car wash in the nearest town, Wendover, Utah, which sits hard against the state line. Those who have been to Speed Week have learned it is impossible to keep a car free of salt, which permeates every crevice of the body. To eliminate obvious traces, spectators have spent three hours and $20 in quarters at a do-it-yourself car wash. It helps somewhat to wipe the salt off your shoes with a towel before getting in the car. Once on the Flats, there are no fixed structures providing the comforts of traditional racetracks no pit garages, no grandstands, no food pavilions for spectators. Even the timing tower and portable toilets are trucked in and out by the S.C.T.A. Racers prepare their vehicles under tent shelters erected next to vans and campers. Staying hydrated is part of the Salt Flats survival ritual. The salt itself is a survivor. Decades of potash mining over the last century began depleting the salt base. But recent efforts by the local salt industry, under pressure from the S.C.T.A. and the racers, have helped stabilize the thin crust, which can be less than an inch thick in places. Bonneville has a profound effect on everyone who competes here. My team and I were utterly humbled by our experience, said Tim Leverton, chief engineer of the JCB Dieselmax team. You cannot arrive here and simply expect to go fast. You have to learn the salt and listen to the Bonneville speed community, who know more about it than anybody.
Cool...........if you receive the paper, it is located on the last page of the sports section. Chris Nelson
For once - a NY Times article I can't argue with! The reporter got it right, and didn't add any spin.
Check out that photo of the Burkland car! This is the first photo I've seen with the braking flaps deploied, the back of the body opens up to widen the car and help slow it down.
looks similar to a thrust reverse on the engine of a jet plane. it slides back or out (deploys) and diverts air forward slowing the object down.. good idea.
That was an accurate and well-written article, especially for a mainstream publication. Thanks. In the past few months on some automotive Web sites I've noticed the New York Times advertising other automotive articles. If you want to read some more, here's my Bonneville Salt Flats article: http://www.roadsters.com/bonneville/ Dave http://www.roadsters.com/
Heres a picture of the chutes packed and the rear doors open. This is simply an amazing car from its utilitarian design. to the way the crew does their job...You are right. Finally an article that "gets it"
These are the rest of the photos in the article's slideshow. The JCB streamliner set a land speed record for diesels at 350 m.p.h. The record-setting streamliner got a push start.
That push start picture is AMAZING. The only thing missing is the sound of that tractor. Thank you !!!
Wow - great article - Thanks! I, like others, was very surprised at the quality of the article - being from the NY Times. Malcolm
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