I Wanna Go Fast

Linda Burton traveling from Elko, Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah –Boggled by nature’s theatrics as I drove east from Elko, I thought by now I’d seen every type of terrain. I was wrong. My curving descent at Wendover, past the last of the Nevada casinos, showed flashes of white ahead. A battery of signs assailed me – Mountain Time Zone, Welcome to Utah, High Wind Area. Then another sign, a green directional, that simply said “Bonneville Speedway.” I didn’t hesitate. 

 My kids went through a drag-racing phase in their teens, and my brothers followed NASCAR for years. I lived near the Talladega Speedway at one time, and my grandkids have watched the Ricky Bobby movie with me till the snap on the case is broken. We’ve even watched it in French! (You should try that version.) The words “I wanna go fast” send them into fits of laughter. “Speedway” is a Button Word to us. And a Speedway on SALT? I’ve wanted to see it for years.

 Blinding white on both sides of the narrow two-laned asphalt, that’s all I see for several miles. And then, the pavement ends and I spot a dot of orange. It is a car on the salt, #66 painted on the side, and someone is photographing the stunning image. I grabbed my sunhat and jumped out of the Scion just as #66 came roaring onto the parking lot. I waved, pointing my camera at the car. They were happy to show it off – Kelly, the driver, and Scott, who handed me a business card explaining who they are and what they do.

 GottogoRacing.com, Building & Racing The World’s Smallest Street Rods. Scott N Eldredge, 509-995-0997, email: GottogoRacing@aol.com.

 So cool! So cute! So LOUD. Two really nice guys; we talked racing, and where they’ve been (they’ve raced and shown cars in 47 states, so far) and where they are going. They liked my car too, and my quest. Mutual admiration! We promised to put each other on Facebook, and wished each other well. Then they went speeding off, and so did I, though (of course) not quite as fast.

 Here are some facts about the Salt Flats, and the Bonneville:

  • The Bonneville Salt Flats covers over 30,000 acres and is administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
  • The first automobile speed record on the flats was set by daredevil Teddy Tezlaff in 1914 – 141.73 mph.
  • Craig Breedlove went 600.6 mph in the 1960’s.
  • Gary Gabolich went 622.4 mph in 1970 in a rocket car named Blue Flame.
  • About 15,000 years ago, Lake Bonneville was the size of Lake Michigan; the Bonneville Salt Flats and the Great Salt Lake are remnants of that ancient lake.

 More history of the Salt Flats, http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/bonneville_salt.htm

 Management today,

http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/salt_lake/recreation/bonneville_salt_flats.html

 Racing at the Bonneville, http://saltflats.com/