From Sunday through Saturday we couldn't have asked for better weather ... then at the end of the meet, after the record return runs of the qualifiers on Saturday morning, the motorcycle engined street luge put down a 145 mph run. As soon as he turned out at around the 2 1/2 we had the first weather related problems of the week, the wind came up. It was like mother nature was making up for previous years blessing us with the best four balmy days of salt weather I can remember in the last twenty plus years. On the race course there was only the one motorcycle incident and he was walking around the pits afterward. Great meet!
There were a record number of long course cars at WoS this year. A report on Thursday evening was 136 and there were still cars arriving. The 130 Club course was busier than ever as you can tell from the run reports. One crew told me they heard the salt and weather was "perfect" and came up at the last minute to give it a go.
From my perspective, I was either up to my ears taking care of the five film crews and several VIP visitors or sitting listening to the FM, CB and 1610 reports. Kicker provided a pair of great tower speakers designed for boat use along with an amplifier to power them. Those and a take out car radio with a mickey mouse battery, battery charger, generator power supply allowed anyone to hear times near the starting line as Ron Christensen announced them on our 1610 radio station. A huge thanks to Kicker for their help. The speaker/amp combination is ideal for our needs.
Memorable moments were Sparky and Seth in impound at the same time for the AA Lakester record with Seth having a slightly higher number on his first run. Back for record runs, Sparky ran first and got the record. His time was just faster than Seth's qualifying run so Seth pushed back and got in line to qualify again. That allowed Sparky to relish his blue hat for a full day before Seth bumped the record the next day to the 310 range. The first one to admit that Ratical pales in comparison to Seth's gorgeous new lakester, Seth was generous in his praise for Bill's times. I could identify Ratical's engine sound whenever Sparky fired it in the pits, nasty power there.
Sparky was all smiles in his blue hat Friday as he was helping a frustrated Lund, 2009 Cadillac crew. One of their crew had gone home early, unintentionally taking the fire bottles with him. They did, finally, make a 186 mph run Saturday morning.
The crew from Top Gear, the BBC program, showed up late Friday with three manufacturers cars, a ZR1 Corvette, a 2009 Cadillac and 2009 Dodge Charger. The three drivers made runs on the 130 Club course to get familiar with the salt before making runs on the long course. Near sunset as they were getting footage of the comparison "smack", a WW II vintage B26 bomber came in, very, very low, down the course from Floating Mountain. The throaty roar from those big radial engines stopped everything as everyone looked up at at the old, twin engine bird. That's a memory to savor!
Two separate Discovery Channel crews were shooting. Watch your TV guides, they will probably show the programs soon after the first of the year.
It was good to see the Mormon Meteor back on the salt again. Marv Jenkins put more miles doing testing on the big Duesenberg race car than his famous father, Ab did, while setting over 100 endurance records. Marv died last Sunday and the funeral was yesterday. He made sure the car stayed in Utah by selling it to John Price who is building a motorsport museum in Salt Lake City. Word yesterday was that John is trying to acquire Mormon Meteor I for the museum. That will be a "must see" in a couple of years at the corner of Second East and Sixth South, a mile from the center of downtown Salt Lake City. Everyone connected or interested in Bonneville racing owes a huge thank you to Ab for pioneering and doggedly promoting racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
I came home to get some rest and to return the Rent A Wreck van, so I'll miss the activities today but I'll be back out in the morning for Mike Cook's event. Five liners capable of 400+ and three streamlined motorcycles who have all hit 350. Eat your hearts out or get a plane ticket and come see it for yourself, admission is FREE!
