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Bored with local motorsports events? It might be time to plan a trip to the Utah desert and the famous Bonneville Salt Flats. It's where insane speed records are made and broken. That has been the case for decades.
In fact, during Bonneville's 2018 World of Speed event a modified 2019 Volkswagen Jetta sedan hit a speed of 210.16 miles per hour. The races were held in September this year. The Jetta beat the previous record for its class of 208.472 miles per hour.
This, of course, was no ordinary Jetta. It featured some serious upgrades to get to its 600-horsepower rating. This included a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine that was thoroughly worked over. VW also removed all non-essential interior components to reduce the car's weight. This is common with race cars. They modified the suspension. They improved its traction with a limited-slip differential. They also put on wheels and tires better suited to the salty surface.
Which begs the question: Why all this work to drive fast on the Bonneville Salt Flats?
Internationally Recognized Racing Destination
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Image 2. Cars form a line near the race track at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Photo by: Rick Bowmer/AP Photo [click to enlarge]
Let's back up first and give a bit of history on the area. Humans have been racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats for over 100 years, which seems like a long time in the world of motorsports. The area's history, however, is much longer and richer. Utah's Great Salt Lake covered a much bigger area, a lake that was later named Lake Bonneville. When Lake Bonneville dried up about 14,500 years ago, leaving mostly desert in its wake, salty plains remained. This remote section of Utah covers about 4,000 square miles. It includes the famous Bonneville Salt Flats. It is owned and managed by the federal government's Bureau of Land Management.
Such record-breaking speeds are possible here because the area is extremely flat. It's so flat you can see the curvature of the Earth. And cars can run for miles without any obstacles. Furthermore, the salt holds moisture that cools the cars' tires. This helps prevent premature degrading of the rubber.
For these reasons the area draws large annual events. August's Bonneville Speed Week and September's World of Speed get most of the attention. However, there are a number of smaller events throughout the year. Dennis Sullivan is president of the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association (USFRA). He spoke about the racing culture.
Utah Salt Flats Racing Association
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Image 3. A racer deploys its parachute after speeding across the Bonneville Salt Flats. Photo by: Rick Bowmer/AP Photo [click to enlarge]
USFRA is a 42-year-old volunteer organization. It hosts the World of Speed event in September. It keeps records for all the classes that compete at the flats. It also helps manage the relationship between this unique land and the people who use it in search of ever-faster speeds.
Automakers, like VW, often visit the Salt Flats. They attempt record-breaking runs for publicity purposes. They also test vehicles in the desert's extreme conditions. However, Sullivan believes it's the enthusiasts who are responsible for the culture.
Official events welcome different vehicle classes. The event is designed to accommodate everything from classic hot rods to new electric vehicles. "There's no money. It's a true amateur sport," Sullivan says. "If you do set a record, all you get is your name in a book and some bragging rights."
Speaking of records, Sullivan notes, the USFRA focuses on wheel-driven vehicles. That is like a regular car, regardless of its performance modifications. They generally ignore jet-propulsion vehicles, which he says are more like "airplanes that have not taken off." The record for a wheel-driven vehicle is 492 miles per hour. And two people have achieved speeds exceeding 400 miles per hour. The holy grail, Sullivan says, is 500 miles per hour.
According to Sullivan, an official USFRA event can require a lot of things. This includes a team of up to 40 volunteers for setup, plus starting and timing the races (some are paid small stipends). It requires steel girders to smooth down imperfections in the salt. It requires 1,000 traffic cones. It also needs 25 miles of timing wire and $20,000 a day to cover costs. Some events run up to four days.
As in any motorsport, safety is a concern. Sullivan says the USFRA rule book has some of the strictest safety regulations of any motorsports association. That record-breaking VW Jetta, for example, protected the driver with a roll cage, a racing seat and harness, a fire suppression system and a pair of parachutes to help the car slow down after the run. All of these are typical for vehicles modified for speed purposes.
