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History Bonneville (Why we do it) Pictures included

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Toymont, Jul 13, 2009.

  1. Toymont
    Joined: Jan 4, 2005
    Posts: 1,381

    Toymont
    Member
    from Montana

    With Speedweek coming up, I thought I would share a paper I wrote for my writing class this spring on a little bit of the history of the event.

    The Need for Speed
    History of Salt Flat Racing at Bonneville
    [​IMG]

    Imagine a place so flat you can see the curvature of the Earth, so barren not
    even the simplest life forms can exist. Now imagine the thunderous sound of strange vehicles as they go roaring by on this vast white expanse of salt.
    This is no alien plain on some far away world, this is the Bonneville Salt Flats and this is Speed Week. Located just outside of Wendover, Utah, the Bonneville Salt Flats is one of the most unique natural features in the world, Covering over 30,000 acres, near the Utah, Nevada border.
    Just what is the event that brings together this wide variety of people and exotic vehicles to this natural wasteland for the last 60 years? To answer that question, first we need a little history. Since the dawn of the automobile, men have been trying to see how fast they can make these mechanical creations go. The Bonneville Salt Flats is one of the few places on Earth where one can bring a vehicle of their own design and attempt to go as fast as they possibly can. Scorching hot? Yes. Monetary rewards? None. Dangerous? Yes. Adrenalin rush? Definitely. Since 1914 when daredevil Teddy Tezlaff set an unofficial automobile speed record on the Salt Flats driving a Blitzen Benz to 141.73 mph, people have been bringing all kinds of motorized contraptions to the area in attempts to challenge both themselves and their machines in this need to go fast. In the 1930’s when British racer Sir Malcolm Campbell was lured to the salt with his monstrous Bluebird automobile to compete for speed records, it drew international attention to this natural straightaway.[​IMG]
    Campbell set nine speed records in several different variations of cars all named “Bluebird,” coming to Bonneville to set his last record in 1935 by going 301.12 mph becoming the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph. Also in the thirties two Englishmen, George Eyston and John Cobb vied to hold the top speed record. With Eyston in his Massive Eight wheeled “Thunderbolt”, [​IMG]
    and Cobb who favored a lighter more streamlined vehicle in his “Railton Mobile Special”.[​IMG]

    The record went back and forth between the two, finally ending with Cobb going 394 mph in 1947. This record would go unbeaten until 1963 when Craig Breedlove took it over in the jet powered “Spirit of America” doing 407 mph.[​IMG]
    Since the first record attempts in 1914, hundreds of records have been set and broken in a variety of vehicles and motorcycles. Amateur hot rodders found the salt in 1949 when the Southern California Timing Association brought a sanctioned event there. Before that when the amateur hot rodders wanted to see how fast their cars would go, they had to do it on the dry lakes in Southern California. The dry lakes such as El Mirage, Muroc, and others while providing flat hard surfaces to race on, also often had poor driving conditions with dirt berms at times lining the course that led to crashes, injuries, and sometimes even deaths. The salt on the other hand provided a long, hard flat surface with no obstructions making it the perfect place for these endeavors. Since 1949 racers and spectators alike have been coming here every year for one week in August for Speed Week. [​IMG]
    Along with SCTA sanctioning the event they also implemented safety rules for the racers and set categories for the vehicles. Land Speed cars are divided into four general categories: Special construction, Vintage, Modified and Production. There are set rules for each category and they are related to safety of construction, driver’s attire, and driver’s qualifications, basic configuration of the vehicle etc. Many of the Hot Rodders who came to the events brought with them the old hot rods that they used to modify for the drag strips and dry lakes of southern California. Some of these Hot Rodders after coming back from World War two recognized the aerodynamics of the auxiliary fuel tanks used on the bombers called Drop Tanks or Belly Tanks. They fitted these with frames, engines and safety cages and ran them on the salt. The hot rods fit in the Vintage class, while the Belly tanks fit the Special construction class. [​IMG]
    All of the extreme speeds have been set in the Special construction class. This class has the Belly Tanks, classed as Lakesters that have no other streamlining and the wheels are not covered. The Streamliner cars are wheel driven cars, very streamlined with the wheels covered. These cars include the cars of Campbell, Cobb, and Eyston. In 1965 Bob Summers came along in the four Hemi engine powered “Goldenrod” and set a new wheel driven record at 409.227 mph.[​IMG]
    In 1991 Al Teague broke that record with 409.986 mph bettering it again in 2002 going 409.978. This speed was broken in 2008 by Tom Burkland in the Great Falls, Montana based twin engine, four wheel drive “Burkland Family Streamliner” by going 417.020 mph.[​IMG]
    "That's what we've been aiming for; this is the end step in the plan," said Betty Burkland, mother of Tom and wife of the third co-owner, Gene, moments after the record run. "That was the final goal: to hold the world record”. (Ryan Hall, Mt. Standard, 09/29/2008) The Unlimiteds came around in the 60’s; these are mainly thrust driven, free wheeling cars. In 1965 Craig Breedlove broke the 600 mph barrier at Bonneville in his “Spirit of America”. The Unlimited record runs in the Thrust categories have moved to the Blackrock Desert area of Nevada with the top record so far going to the British with Andy Green exceeding the sound barrier going a blazing 763.035 mph.[​IMG]
    So what is it that draws this crowd to this place for this event? The big Streamliners are getting expensive to the point that it is most likely that the “Burkland family Streamliner” may be the last one built in a home shop. The spectators love to see them run. Watching from about the three mile mark you hear it coming before you see anything, the drone of the big motors pounding away, soon you see a rooster tail of salt spray, then the beating sun begins to reflect off the body of the car, as it whizzes by with the sound following along behind, soon seeming to float above the surface before it disappears from view. Then you see the parachute pop in the distance.
    For the lesser classes of vehicles it is still possible for the amateur builder to come here and get in the record books with something of their own creation. David Frieburger from Hot Rod magazine says. “The Bonneville Salt Flats is a place where guys will race anything. No one with a single automotive synapse firing can attend a land speed race there and come home without looking at a weed blower with newborn curiosity.” The salt has a tendency to creep into your blood. You may attend an event one year as a spectator, go home thinking that was kinda cool for a one time thing, but several weeks later you get to thinking, “wow you know that was really fun I think maybe I could build a car to do that, maybe even do 200 mph”. Such was the case for three guys from Missoula, Montana. Chuck Kaparich, Steve Weiler and myself have been meeting every Sunday for about 4 hours at a time for the last two years building the “Strange Days Belly Tank Lakester” with still one more year to go before it hits the salt. Call us crazy but it gets in your blood, you want to do it, you have to do it. There is no reward except the timing slip with your speed at the end of a run. We do it because we can. Bonneville is the last event where the average guy or gal can take something such as an old roadster or as in our case a beat up old drop tank, [​IMG]fabricate or modify almost every part for it and make it into a car capable of hopefully doing 200 mph. [​IMG]
    No reward, lots of money invested along with many hours of labor just for the thrill of doing something few people have ever done. Going to The Bonneville Speed Week is simply an exciting experience that anybody who enjoys cars or motorcycles and the thrill of going fast should attend if they ever get the chance. Sure you can go to a NASCAR race or Baja and have some of the same thrills, but running the salt is unique in that it is the largest and probably the last stand for the amateur racer in the United States.
    References:
    Internet:
    1. http://www.speedace.info/george_eyston.htm
    2. North American Eagle, History of LSR
    3. The Bonneville Salt Flats www.utah.com
    Books:
    1. Bonneville Salt Flats, Louise Ann Noeth
    2. Hot Rod magazine, History of Hot Rodding, March 2005
    3. Montana Standard, Ryan Hall, 09/29/2008
    Pictures:
    1. Title photo: http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/bonneville_salt.htm
    2. Railton Mobile Special, Thrust SSC: http://www.dlra.org.au/history-lsr.htm
    3. Bluebird: http://www.bluebird-electric.net/sir_malcolm_campbell.htm
    4. Thunderbolt: http://www.speedace.info/george_eyston.htm
    5. Spirit of America: http://www.speedace.info/spirit_of_america.htm
    6. Goldenrod: ttp://hwww.racingcampbells.com/content/campbell.archives/goldenrod.as
    7. Old Crow Belly tank, Hot Rod roadster, Drop Tank, Strange Days Belly tank Lakester Dana Nichols collection
    8. Burkland Streamliner: http://www.ugofadini.com/burklandmodel.html
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2009
  2. Lucky Burton
    Joined: Dec 31, 2004
    Posts: 1,681

    Lucky Burton
    Member

    That's cool.. Thanks for sharing... Lucky
     
  3. Toymont
    Joined: Jan 4, 2005
    Posts: 1,381

    Toymont
    Member
    from Montana

    Thanks Lucky, The pic I used in the paper for an example of a Belly Tank was one I took of the Old Crow tank when I was down there last year.
     
  4. Toymont
    Joined: Jan 4, 2005
    Posts: 1,381

    Toymont
    Member
    from Montana

    I added the pictures for more effect
     

  5. Great read.......Thanks
     
  6. split51
    Joined: Nov 26, 2005
    Posts: 510

    split51
    Member
    from guthrie ok

    Great story and soooooooo true about the salt getting in your blood. Its the purest form of racing IMO.
     
  7. 48fordnut
    Joined: Nov 4, 2005
    Posts: 4,215

    48fordnut
    Member Emeritus

  8. Congradulations on a very excellent paper.
    If I could make one correction, Special Construction is a Catagory, not a class. Within that catagory are the various Streamliner and Lakester classes.
    I doubt the professor grading your paper would catch that little tidbit.
     
  9. ZZ-IRON
    Joined: Feb 28, 2007
    Posts: 1,964

    ZZ-IRON
    Member
    from Minnesota

    Cool post

    I talked to Al Teague at the 2000 Speed Week he did 390 mph that day

    Saw the Burkland twin engine 411 Streamliner, there Semi is something else to

    Had a Great time
     
  10. kurtis
    Joined: Mar 13, 2009
    Posts: 2,001

    kurtis
    Member
    from Australia

    Great read.
    I've just finished reading a book covering some of the great LSR vehicles
    ever to set foot on the Bonneville Saly Lake. In one chapter the author talks in great length about John Cobb's entry stating that to this day, most experienced observers admit that it's the best aerodynamic shape to ever grace a landspeed vehicle. Personally I'd put my money on tne Summers Bros. Goldenrod.
    There is a great video of John Cobb at Bonneville in his last version record breaker at www.jitterbuzz.com/indwhl.html

    Oh yeah, you forgot to mention Gary Gabelich. The last American to hold a LSR.
     
  11. DocWatson
    Joined: Mar 24, 2006
    Posts: 10,273

    DocWatson
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Very cool. Andy Green is a very unassuming guy and wont even tell you he drove Thrust SSC when talking about the subject!
    He was (Maybe still is?) an RAF Tornado pilot. He told me that he put his name down for it and forgot all about it until his Sqn Co called on him to tell him he was the only pilot on the list available at the time so he got the ride!
    He is also an avid parachutist, I meet and jumped with him at the Australian Military Parachute Nationals.
    Doc.
     
  12. Toymont
    Joined: Jan 4, 2005
    Posts: 1,381

    Toymont
    Member
    from Montana

    You sir are correct. Thanks I should have caught that myself
     
  13. freudiger
    Joined: Aug 25, 2009
    Posts: 20

    freudiger
    Member
    from California

    What family has held a record in the same class the longest in history, and still running today?
     
  14. Slim Pickens
    Joined: Dec 15, 2008
    Posts: 3,343

    Slim Pickens
    Member

    Thanks so much, I love this subject. Great piece. Slim
     

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