Speedweek

[Dave Haller]

What did you like most about this years Speedweek? What did you least like about this years Speedweek? What were your biggest complaints and biggest kudos? Just curious on the read from participants.
I did not like the long delays waiting in line. The number of participants cut down on the number of runs any participant could hope to make.
I experienced new car gremlins as expected. My canopy popped open on the first and second passes causing me to cut short the runs. Got that problem fixed fairly quickly in my pit. Oil blow out problems caused other delays in an effort to fix the problem which couldn't be fixed at the salt. The money spent to get the car ready, to get and stay there may make me hesitate in coming years. Just the gas bill this year to get there and get home was over $800.00. That is a bunch for any hobby racer.
I really liked the fellowship with other racers, really enjoyed all the unique machinery and innovation demonstrated by a bunch of fun loving hot rodders as well as the rat rods show at the Nugget in the evenings.

[racin jason]

Dave,
I think if the three course deal was in place the lines would have been much shorter. i towed a 32 foot trailer from canada and stayed at the bend in the road.  total cost for the weeks fuel and lodging was $900. There is a ton of people to lend you a shower or hit the truck stop. The USFRA or World finals meet may be an option as the hotel costs and lines should be shorter.
Congrats to you for getting out there and making some passes.

[Sumner]

What I was impressed with most was that SCTA was able to put on Speed Week after the rain.  I can't thank them enough.

Considering the changes they had to make I felt the lines moved as quickly as possible and they had no control over the wind delays and the delays caused by car problems on the course.

We broke on Sat. and it took till Wed. to get the car back together and by then the lines were short.  Not a solution I would recommend  .

I think anyone that tries this type of racing will soon find out if it is for them or not.  You have to be goal oriented, patient, not expect instant gratification, etc..  I'm sure some that went this year for their first time won't be back and others will replace them and the weeding out process will continue like it has in the past.

If one starts counting the dollars for the car, gas, lodging, parts, etc. and tries to justify the expense in relationship to runs made, records broken you will probably find yourself doing something else down the road.  We are all familiar with the expression that no matter how much storage space you build you will find it filled.  Doing this you will find that no matter how much money you have in your wallet it will be gone  .

This year we only made 4 runs.  Broke on the first. Ran out of gas on the second.  Qualified for a record on the third and spun the car on the fourth.  All that we endured between Sat. and the next run on Wed. will give us memories that will be with us for the rest of our lives and now I feel we are "racers".  Put a price on that  .

I'll end by once again thanking all the SCTA folks for enduring the absolute miserable conditions they had to work under getting the meet setup for us.  Next time this happens lets show them a little more patience as we wait for their decission on whether they can put the show on or not.

Great seeing a lot of you on the salt,

Sum

[Richard Thomason]

I thought that this years Speed Week went great from a racer's stand point. Yes the lines were long for most of the week, but not much worse than in the 80's with only one course. This is second guessing of course, but maybe should have kept people off the salt for a day or two longer and delayed racing one day or two. However if that would have happened, we wouldn't have gotten as many runs on Thurs. and Fri. as we did. Great time though.

[Jonny Hotnuts]

First the dislikes:

1. Lines to run.....4 hours in line to make one run.....that is insane.
2. Over flowing out houses.....the one by the start was unreal.
3. D.W.'s CB.....(jk)
4. Must admit I did not like the comment at the drivers meeting about the BNI site being the only place to get reliable info....thought it was a underhanded and unneeded.
5. One night in Pizza Hut a racer was yelling at the girl behind the counter because they didnt get their food at the same time and was quite a wait. Fact is that I dont like the wait but these little restaurants get 10 times the business during speedweek and they can not hire the staff to deal with the influx....they do the best they can. This Dip S threw some stuff around and was yelling F this S and other things in front of a table with about 3 little girls (about 4-8years).

I dont know who he was but he did not know how very close he was that night to having me escort him outside for a lesson in ass kicking....I had already set my fork down....

6. Biggest dislike:

THE DAYS INN !!!!!!!    the rooms cost over 200 per night, 6 night minimum and the room was gross, stains on the walls and ceiling the toilet ran, cig burns on the sheets (they didnt even have a bottom sheet, the just laid a flat sheet on a dirty mattress) the staff was rude and the pool was a hang out for all the local kids, my pops bed was broken and the fridge smelled like something died in it......

My wife and I went to Spain a while back and drove to a town called Granada. They were having a festival and there were no rooms available (and I like to travel on the fly without reservations). We lucked out and found that someone who booked a sweet in the "NH Grand Victoria" canceled but it was about 180 euros per night (220$). 220$ is not cheap but the hotel was beautiful, real hardwoods in the room, 48" plasma, private balcony, giant bathroom and great staff.....
I did not mind the expense because the cost justified the room.....but Days Inn didn't even use lube when we were F-ed.


Enough bitching....here are my highlights (in no order).

1. Burkland
At first didnt know who the guy was, just someone who came to my pit and was looking around asking questions and making suggestions (all good suggestions). Sum showed up and called him Tom.....I made the connection.
Spent about and hour hanging out BSing and having a soda. For a first year car/team it was really cool that he took the time to just come and talk. The Nish team was really cool also....

2. Salt Flat Cafe and the burger place.
Love the SFC, too bad its once a year for me.

3. The people from here:
Many people from this forum came up to say hello and introduce themselves, too many to mention but it was all great to see you.

4. Learning the ropes.
I understand now what it is like to go through tech with a new car (only a few minor things to fix thank god and they really liked my cable pull release of the lateral head restraint bar for easier exit.) I understand what the log book is now and how everything works and how they measure cylinder volume and impound procedures. Also the info on what need to be done to the car for next year.

5. Ice Cream truck and thanks to the Monster team for their support of the event.


Looks like the bend in the road for me next year!

[Dan Stokes]

I haven't been to the salt yet, but look forward to the experience.  Probably won't take the car, as it's no way competitive, just fun.

While we can and do get rained out and blown out, I'm feeling grateful for the Maxton pavement.  Once the rain stops, we're ready to go pretty quickly.  With Keith and Joe's guidance, we're now running, on average, a car every 70 seconds.  Now, if we just had another 4 or 5 miles of it.....

Thanks for the perspectives
Dan

[landracing]

I would second the Monster sponsor... Just to bad they left early... Dont know if they ran out of product or were only scheduled to be there a certain time.

I was going so often for a Monster, that he gave me a case... I was drinking 6 of those a day, until the MSA crew informed me that the can says not to drink either 3 or 4 servings a day... Each can was 2 servings.. Ooops.. It was great to grab a cold can of Monster for breakfast... after a return run... Then in impound... Then while working on the bike... One for the hell of it... Then one on the way in to town... Hope they come again next year.

Jon
 

[Glen]

THERE WERE OVER 2130 RUNS AND SOMEWHERE AROUND 135 RECORDS, CARS WERE GETTING 3 RUNS A DAY ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY MORNING. oops, forgot the caps lock. The slow running vehicles on the 1 to 2 mile trap at 35 mph and less speeds held things up as did spins, blown out windows and a couple of crashes. There were several cars that turned the wrong way out, push trucks on the course and CB radios that were turned off or didn't  work very well that held things up. We still average about one run every 4 minutes. The people that worked many long hours to make it happen and tear it all down by Friday night earned their small amount of compensation for their efforts.

We had no control over the weather but we did make the best of what we could with damn little to work with. With a 3rd course I am not sure how many more runs we would have gotten. It was  a challenge to run what we did, Hopefully next year we can do better.

BTW, with class changes there were around 550 entries and over 500 cars/bikes inspected, some what larger then last year. I think we did real well under the conditions we were up against the week before.


Glen

[Rchop]

It was great fun and a learning experience for me. As a first timer, I really didn't know what to expect so, I wasn't disappointed with anything. I know the lines were long but I had heard so many stories about them, that's what I expected. I got to run 8 times and left with my record on Thursday.
I had some extremely experienced racers in the group I accompanied (AirTech/MDR) and I have to give these guys the credit for my success. I met some really great people and stand in awe of the SCTA/BNI volunteers that put on such a great event. All of the SCTA/BNI people I delt with were helpful and patient.
I plan on making this an annual outing.

Randy

[jackson]

What did I like most about Speed Week?  Skip Hedrich.  We had a car in impound on Monday night when I was leaving the salt and I didn't see the lip of asphalt at the end of road.  I gave everyone at the end of the road a show as I knocked my push bumper under the truck at a speed of 4 mph.  As I was on my back in the mud trying to unbolt what was left of my bumper, a quiet gentleman asked if I needed anything.  I told him what I really needed was a push bumper that was 5 inches off the ground.  He said he had one and would meet me at 6:00am to push us out of impound and to the 50mph push start we need for the 2 speed manual.  Luckily the security crew at the end of the road new I was too flustered to remember his name and gave me a scrap of paper with his name and car number.  That night as I looked him up in the program I flipped through from the back and just happened to catch his picture in the 3 club.  That's a very impressive car and a very inspiring man.  He and his wife pushed us off for a record the next morning.  We have always had great luck with fellow racers at the flats, but this more than restored my faith in the kind of people that have a passion for this sport.  I will keep his generosity in mind for years to come out there and every where.

What I didn't like.......wind.  Oh, and that lip of asphalt at the the end of the salt.

[hotrod]

I would also like to thank all those that worked to put the re-configured event together on such short notice!!
My second year as a spectator and researching for a future car build.

I also would like to thank all the racers who were willing to let me poke around in and around their cars and ask "why are you doing it this way" questions. I also had a very pleasent conversation with Tom Burkland in the pit of the 7878 A/CFALT  Pontiac with a moment of discovery as I connected the face to the name ( light did not come on because it was not the streamliner I guess ) The 7777 Salt Shaker Jim Rota,  gave me a detailed look at his front wheel design, Dan Chilson with the #486 F/BGL who kindly gave me a detailed guided tour to his car and we had a long and helpful discussion about his experiences with certain suppliers and tips and hints to keep the engine alive. The 887 C/GR --- too many to list, but examples of the helpful "we are all in this game together" attitude that makes the land speed community such a pleasure to deal with.

I saw beautifully built cars that had 15 years of build time invested in them, going for their first licensing runs (#1231 B/GALT) which turned out to be another Colorado based car. That time investment puts a reality check on you if you think it is a slam dunk to build and run a competitive car.

I wish I could thank you all individually but for most the names are unknown. Even the racers that broke were generally willing to talk a bit, sometimes giving some very useful insight into what they would do to prevent it in the future or simply a lesson learned regarding an issue to be aware of.

Thumbs up to all that ran and all that worked to make it possible, given the sudden last minute changes I think it went very well. The alternating use of the courses long/short seemed to keep things moving and was easier on the courses I think as well.

Larry

[Dave Haller]

Sumner,
I've been going to the salt since 1993. I've had a car there since 1994. I love the place, the organizations, the people and especially the sights and sounds of Speedweek, World Finals and World of Speed. I know things are expensive and have been able to adjust as the years have passed. I now have an extreme speed machine and will continue to run it as time, age and money allows. I won't be weeded out from a hobby sport I care so much about. Just wish I had the big bucks to make it a little easier on the pocket book. I have been fortunate enough over the years to get some sponsor help to assist in covering travel and room costs, this year that help was short due to increased costs everyone out there is experiencing in this economy.
Not complaining, just sharing some concerns that I hope will never limit me from competing at the salt. I go for personal best and if that ever includes a record I will be thrilled. In the meantime I'm fixing the oil problem and figuring out how to make it all go faster.

[racergeo]

 The part I really hate about speed week was not meeting Jack Dolan. I was going to pose a picture of me choking him and of course him choking me.  I liked every thing else. Tech was a bit tedious but even though I didnt get in line till 3 on sat. I still got a run. Made 7 runs and got my AA license and then toke a run at the record but came up 4mph short. changed to a bigger carb.and was going 276 just before the 4th mile and blew a rear tire, hooked left and hit the 4 mile sign and then slide sideways across the track. When the parachutes hit the car snapped  straight and I came to a safe stop. The car threw up so much salt they first announced  it had crashed. Thanks to driving instructions from Tom Burkland. He came by and knew I was a rockie   and offered some FWD driving tips. They came in handy. I thought things moved way faster thanks to the two long short course arrangement. Super job by the SCTA. Cost wise, its way cheaper then racing the NHRA divisional deal. I think Im going through withdrawal so I better watch the video  of my runs with the camera mounted on my canopy. Really gives a sense of speeeeed!

[salt27]

This was the first year on the salt for my 11 year-old son Gus. In the past I'd told him that when he was 12 he could go with me. Well....this year I knuckled under to his persistent requests to go. He thrived despite riding 12 hours there and 12 hours back, tent camping at the Bend, lightning, the heat, late nights, early mornings, and his dad having long chats with fellow salt addicts. He's hasn't lost his grin yet.

Thanks to all of you who made our time great, especially Jon (SSS) and Nancy for letting Gus help set up for the Salt Talks, and Dan Hostetter and the Burkdall crew for sharing their camp, their stories, and their pyrotechnic show, again.

Sumner, it was good to meet you and to talk with you. If you ever get out our way, stop by and I'll take you on a tour of the Oregon dunes.

Jonny Hotnuts, I enjoyed talking with you; with your determination you should do well.

Fast cars, fast bikes, salt, and good people = a great time!

Don

 

[michael lueders]

I would like to extend a thank you to all the workers who made SpeedWeek 2007 possible. For those of you who did not venture to the previously laid out course you could only imagine the heartache. It was under water all through the event. The amount of energy and enthusiasm shown to make new courses at the last minute and get the ball rolling all over again is what grass roots racing is all about.

Only 4 hours in line?..well look at Glens post about the number of cars run even with the wind delays. Awesome job all!!!

BTW..I keep seeing camels in my dreams...what does it mean?