COOK'S SHOOTOUT 2012

[dw230]

I am not that familiar with the results of the pumping Bob. Maybe Dallas can expand/answer your question.

DW

[AHG]

  Looking forward to returning to the salt in a few days for the Cook Meet, and would like to make mention of how much I admire
all the guys who are working on this race course. I promoted motorcycle dirttrack racing in Indiana for awhile,
and remember how much work we had just to get a nice looking 1/2 mile, or even a little speedway oval.
So, 12 miles of grooming.....WOW!
Really like the saw tooth cutter bar welded on the front of the drag. Great idea.
My gut feeling tells me that things will work out, and some new big speeds will be posted.

I like telling a rider it's time to measure their engine(s),
because when it's finished they know they're one step closer to record ratification,
and usually pretty friggen happy.

[Ro Yale]

Thanks for the update and especially to the guys doing all the work on the salt. Incredible how much goes into it. Thanks!

[roadster589]

FYI Spped freaks, we put off running are funny car this weekend to head back to bonneville. A storm moved in and dumped a lot of water on the salt so the call was made to head back up here as I type this I am sitting on the drag at the 12.5 mile . My self and one of are crew guys left Cali at 10 pm tue night we arrived on the salt at 8 am and we have not left we are in the middle of dragging the entire track once again. Is it great no is it better yes a lot better. Dad stayed home to secure our rain dates and set up all the nassery paper work, BLM permits toilets, ins. And all that good stuff. A huge thank you to the USFRA guys and gals when we arrived unannounced in the middle of there set up day they never even flinched about letting us on the salt. I was told JR do what ever you need to do. Thanks guys I will send some pic over to John so he can post them my phone is a little slow at the 12 mile again thanks everyone for your continued support of This event.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Mike:

First things first, okay?  It's JON, not JoHn.  No aitch!  Got it?  Maybe you should stick with Slim.

There.  That's better. . .

Aw, maybe I should cut you some slack.  If you were out dragging in the dark - - yeah, I forgive you...  Thanks for the work.  We're in SLC this morning and will get to the salt by early afternoon (some shopping for Salt Talks will keep us busy before we hit Land's End).

Here are those photos:

[Tman]

Sure looks awesome in that top photo!

[roadster589]

Sorry Shim, ( LOL ) See you guys this afternoon  :-

[roadster589]

one last quick update as we head home, the track has been graded from the 1 mile to the 12 mile 120 feet wide still standing water from the highway mile 0 to the river mile 1 should dry up nicely we will finish preping that startting on wed the 12 th.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Mike, Nancy and I took some photos down by the freeway end this morning.  Shall I post them so folks can see the conditions?  We saw water for the quarter mile from the freeway to the course, then a bit of damp spot at the river crossing, and so on.  Wanna see the photos?

[Moxnix]

Yes, please.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Well, if that's what you want -- take a gander here.  I'll try to offer some comments so you know where they are and what you're seeing.

First of all, here's a shot from a bit less than a half-mile away from the freeway. The water is maybe a quarter mile across:



Here's my shadow as I stood shooting down the length of the river, followed by a shot of a little "gouge" I made with my shoe in the wet salt.  The knife is there so you have some idea of the depth I could dig with the rubber-soled show.





More shots of the course:







Okay -- that's all but this one.  I'll re-hash my observations by saying the course was water from the freeway (where the pits were last year and before) for at least a quarter-mile.  Then there's another 1/4 of decent but damp salt -- and then the underground river and the old pole line.

About two miles farther up the course (heading northerly) - by now we're about the 2 1/2 -- there's standing water for at least a mile.  It's just blown in water and no doubt will be gone within a few more hours.  Here's what I saw:





And that's it for now.  Not ready for racing - because of the water.  But the course surface is superb -- hard and firm and smooth.  Once it's dry it'll be wonderful.  By the of course way, we didn't drive on the course in the soft spots, like on the river crossing.

See you later.

[RayTheRat]

I've just heard from an "un-named source" that there's a real good chance of two more streamliners, one with 2 wheels, one with 4 of 'em, and a couple more cars at the Shootout.  This is unconfirmed, but would really be nice.  I can add a little more to the "couple more cars" thing.  I heard that from a car owner who just might be there.

Stay tuned.

[racefanwfo]

Does anyone know if mike and the jet bike are going to show up. 

[Moxnix]

I posted this in the wrong thread, moved it here:

I just emailed Jon and Nancy.  Another family responsibility (obligation, according  to my wife) precludes me from attending The Shootout.  Too bad, after last year I was really looking forward to being there with the new audio kit.

My intention is to be at World Finals, after my youngest son's daily caretaker returns from vacation.  Wifey will not let me take both sons out of school and bring them out.  Too bad.

So, anyone that might be able to help Jon out with audio, I'm sure it would be fine. 

[Seldom Seen Slim]

And I just sent a note to Max asking about what things I might be able to find during our trip from Wendover to Denver and back before the Shootout starts this Friday afternoon (racing begins Saturday morning).  Maybe we can get it to work.

If you can help out with the audio - it's not all that difficult once we have the right parts -- let me know.  The pay is great -- zero - but you do get to hang around the start line at the Shootout.  Nancy and I will do our usual internet updates on a continuous basis, and we're also course stewards for the Cook Enterprises group, so a helper for the audio will be handy.  Be in touch, please.