Land Speed Ultimate Race - Bonneville

" The unique character of Bonneville Salt Flats affects all who race here."

" The salt talks to you, to me, maybe not everybody. Used to be dead quiet out here where you can't hear anything actually just, you hear the salt move next to the noises. If you're out here all by yourself early in the morning, late at night, you can hear it. It just makes funny little sounds."

" Bonneville is a truly bizarre place. Water lying on its outer edges migrates across the salt, pushed along by the slightest breeze. Bonneville forms part of what was once a vast 3,000-square mile salt lake. So large that astronaut John Glenn used it as a visual marker when he orbited the earth in Friendship 7."

" It's just one of those wonders of the world, a natural geological wonder that is perfectly suited for high-speed vehicles of all sorts. The surface is smooth, in fact, because of the water that's here during the winter months."

" For 8 months a year, storm water flows down from the surrounding mountains, flooding Bonneville and frustrating land speed attempts. But ironically, it's this process that makes the salt flats such a prime venue for high speed racing."

" The wind blows the water back and forth and it naturally smoothes it out. And then as the summer months come, it dries approximately 6 inches of water into pretty much a level and smooth surface."

" Marking out the course is Rick Vesco's responsibility. With speeds of over 400 miles per hour, choosing and preparing the track for smoothness is all important."

" The wetness makes it level. The dryness makes it hard for good traction so that a car can actually put the power to the salt and propel itself across the flats. So wet winter, dry summer makes for extreme racing."