DESCRIPTION
The Bonneville Salt Flats are a 159 square mile (412 km²)
salt flat in northwestern Utah. The depth of the salt has
been recorded at 6 feet (1.8 m) in many areas. A remnant of
the ancient Lake Bonneville of glacial times, the salt
flats are now public land managed by the Bureau of Land
Management. It is the largest of many salt flats located
west of the Great Salt Lake. Rainfall each winter erases
tire marks and flattens the densely-packed salt pan that is
inhospitable to plants. The area is extremely flat and
aligned nearly perfectly with the shape of Earth.
HISTORY
The area was named after Benjamin Bonneville, a US army
officer who explored the area. The flats were first
recognized for their potential as a speed-testing ground by
Bill Rishel, who in 1896 had cycled across the area to win
a competition run by the newspaper publisher William
Randolph Hearst. In 1907 Rishel and two local businessmen
tested the suitability of the salt for driving on by taking
a Pierce Arrow onto the flats. A railway line across the
Bonneville Salt Flats was completed in 1910, marking the
first permanent crossing. The use of the salt flats as a
speedway began in 1914 with Teddy Tetzlaff's run there
which exceeded the land speed record, although the new
record was not officially recognised. Rishel continued to
promote the area for racing, and in 1927 Ab Jenkins raced
against a train over a 125-mile (201 km) stretch between
Salt Lake City and Wendover. Jenkins went on to set up a
10-mile (16 km) circular course on the salt which he used
to establish 24 hour records in 1932 and 1933. The area
became internationally famous in 1935 when Malcolm Campbell
set a new land speed record, making him the first to break
the 300 mph (480 km/h) mark. For the next 35 years, nearly
all land speed records were set at the salt flats.
Data taken from Wikipedia
THE
SPEEDWAY
Bonneville Speedway is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats
near Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports.
It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land
speed records. The salt flats were first used for motor
sports in 1912, but didn't become truly popular until the
1930s when the Ab Jenkins and Sir Malcolm Campbell competed
to set land speed records. Usually two tracks are prepared;
a 5 mile long (Long course) for streamliners and a 3 mile
long (Short Course) for more production-oriented cars. A
third course is sometimes marked, depending on the
condition of the salt surface, and is usually a short
course. The straightway is marked with a broad black line
down each side and has several measured mile sections after
the second mile. Additional marks and cones indicate the
end of the track and the position of timing equipment on
the measured mile.