Land speed record racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats

Land speed record racers

Last updated on July 18, 2009

On this page:
Introduction
Racing teams
Motorcycle racers
Parts sources
Sanctioning bodies
More information sources

Some related pages on Roadsters.com:
1932 Ford roadster project
Big block Chevy projects
Bonneville Racing News
Breaking the sound barrier on land
Chauvin Emmons at Bonneville
Hot rods
Nostalgia drag racing
Pioneers of hot rodding
Race car insurance
Race car trailers
Racing engine builders
Racing engine parts
Safety equipment
Speed equipment directory
Vintage racing

Introduction

I've been interested in racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats since the early Sixties when Mickey Thompson amazed us all with a 406-mph run in his four-engined Challenger One at the Bonneville Salt Flats back in 1961.

Every kid needs a hero, and when I heard what he'd done he became mine. Who could possibly control a race car at 400 miles an hour? Mickey did. I built a model of his car, and spent hours just looking at the thing, completely fascinated. To this day I've never lost my respect for him.

For many of us, racing at Bonneville and El Mirage represents the last area of motorsports where people are encouraged to come up with their own ideas and try them out, without the need for million-dollar sponsorship deals.

No matter what you'd like to build and race, at Bonneville and El Mirage there's bound to be a class for you to race it in. Dream it, build it, race it.

Another aspect of the sport that appeals to a lot of us is its lack of commercialism. This is racing that's put on by racers, for racers. You won't find any corporate suites or posh restaurants overlooking the Bonneville Salt Flats.

The atmosphere at one of these meets in some ways resembles what you find at many other motorsports events — teams helping each other, working hard and having a good time. What you'll find at Bonneville and El Mirage that's a rare commodity is the tradition involved. Where else could you find people competing in race cars that were originally built up back in the Fifties?

Bonneville racers and teams

American Eagle Racing Team
Blown Fuel lakester
http://www.americaneagleracingteam.com/

Art Arfons' Cyclops Streamliner
342 mph in 1962
http://www.mshf.com/

British Steam Car Challenge
Steam-powered streamliner
http://www.steamcar.co.uk/

The Bryant Family's Competition Coupe
227 mph
http://www.bryantauto.com/

Rick Byrnes
World's fastest four-cylinder Production Sedan
http://www.rbmotorsports.com/

Malcolm Campbell
http://www.racingcampbells.com/
http://www.bluebirdproject.com/

Jack Chisenhall's '53 Studebaker
http://www.vintageair.com/

The Danny Boy Streamliner
http://www.dannyboystreamliner.com/

Dempsey's White Lightning Electric Streamliner
245 mph on batteries
http://www.dwra.net/

The Dreamliner III Streamliner
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/2078/

Chauvin Emmons' Fuel Modified Roadster
http://www.roadsters.com/chauvin/

Andy Green and the Bloodhound SSC Streamliner
http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/

Andy Green and the Thrust SSC Streamliner
http://www.roadsters.com/750/

The Hoffman / Markley Streamliner
382 mph with 309 cubic inches
http://www.hoffmanmetal.com/

The JCB Dieselmax Streamliner
World's fastest diesel
http://www.jcbdieselmax.com/

The Hot Rod Lincoln
http://www.hotrodlincoln.com/

Kugel Komponents — the first stock-bodied production car over 300 mph
http://www.kugelkomponents.com/

Ron Main's Flatfire Flathead-powered Streamliner
302 mph
http://www.flatfire.com/

Mallo Racing's 1928 Ford roadster
http://www.malloracing.com/

Rosco McGlashan's Aussie Invader Streamliner
http://www.aussieinvader.com/

Russ Meeks' Finishline Coatings Modified Roadster
http://www.finishlinecoatings.com/

Ky Michaelson — The Rocketman
http://www.the-rocketman.com/

The Nish Motorsports Streamliner — 345 mph with a small block Chevy
http://www.nishmotorsports.com/

Richard Noble and the ThrustSSC
http://www.roadsters.com/750/

The North of 49 Street Roadster
http://www.fsra.org/n49/

Pigasus Racing
http://www.calsrandr.com/

John Rains' Turbocharged Trans Am
http://www.ybenormal.com/

Slaughter Motorsport's Streamliner
http://www.slaughtermotorsport.com/

The SO-CAL Speed Shop Belly Tanks and Streamliner
http://www.so-calspeedshop.com/

Waldo Stakes and the Sonic Wind Rocket Sled
1,000 mph on ice?
http://www.www.sonicwind.com/

Strasburg Racing
http://www.strasburg-racing.com/

John Streeter's S&H Landspeed Racing Gas Streamliner
http://www.saltfever.com/

Summers Brothers
http://www.summersbrothersracing.com/

Al Teague — 432 mph Blown Fuel Streamliner
http://www.alteague.com/

Danny Thompson and Mickey Thompson
http://www.thompson-motorsports.com/

Danny Thompson Motorsports
http://www.dannythompsonracing.com/

Marlo Treit's Target 550 Streamliner
http://www.target550.com/

Don Vesco and the Team Vesco Racing Turbinator Streamliner — 458 mph with a turbine
http://www.teamvesco.com/

Rick Yacoucci and Jack Costella's Nebulous Theorem II Streamliner
http://www.yacoucci.com/

The Hoffman / Markley streamliner at Bonneville

Motorcycle land speed record racers

Bub 50cc Project
Motorcycle streamliner
http://www.50cc-land-speed-racing.com/

Bub Streamliner Seven
Former world's fastest motorcycle
http://www.seven-streamliner.com/

Ron Cook
http://www.pureguts.com/

Corbin — Harley-Davidsons
http://www.corbin.com/

Don't Be Scared Racing — Kawasaki
http://www.dontbescaredracing.com/

Mark Fillebrown
http://www.flattracker.com/

Carl Morrow and the Carl's Speed Shop Harley-Davidson
http://www.carlsspeedshop.com/

Joe Petrali — 136 mph on a Harley Knucklehead at Daytona Beach in 1937
http://www.mshf.com/

RB Racing — Harley-Davidsons
http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/

S&S Cycle — 239-mph Harley-Davidson
http://www.sscycle.com/

Randy Smith — BMW and Harley-Davidson
http://www.frsengineering.com/

Sportster List Racing Team
http://www.lsr.sportster.org/

Team Elves — racing a Buell at Bonneville
http://www.teamelves.com/

Team SNART Racing — racing a Sportster at Maxton
http://www.snartracing.com/

Jon & Nancy Wennerberg — 247cc and 1,270cc Kawasakis
http://www.infodestruction.com/

Sam Wheeler's EZ-Hook Streamliner — 1350cc Fuel Streamliner
http://www.streamliner.com/

The Woomera 1 Streamliner
http://www.worldlandspeedrecord.com/

Specialized parts sources

For those of you who are interested in building a car or motorcycle for Land Speed Record racing, here's a partial list of specialists to help you get started.

Many Bonneville cars have been built with parts designed for drag racing, so have a look in the Speed Equipment Directory for chassis parts, engines and transmission parts, and safety equipment.

Race car fabricators that specialize in Bonneville racing are not very common, but a look in the pages of some of the magazines provided ads for several of the companies that are run by successful Bonneville racers. I'll be expanding this section whenever I find something to add, so keep checking back.

California Chassis Engineering — race car fabrication and aluminum bodies by Dave Tuttle
http://www.dragsters.net/

Deist Safety — safety equipment for land speed record racing
http://www.deist.com/

Hoffman Metal Products — custom metal fabrication
http://www.hoffmanmetal.com/

Krem Engineering — mechanical engineering, race car design and problem solving
http://www.krem-enterprises.com/

Strasburg Racing — "Specializing in speeds over 200 mph"
http://www.strasburg-racing.com/

Stroud Safety — safety equipment for land speed record racing
http://www.stroudsafety.com/

Summers Brothers, Inc. — streamliner axles, chassis and bodies
http://www.summersbrothersracing.com/

LSR sanctioning bodies

ECTA — East Coast Timing Association
11241 Barnes Bridge Road
Laurinburg, NC 28352
(910) 266-9868
http://www.ecta-lsr.com/

SCTA — Southern California Timing Association, Inc.
(559) 528-6279
http://www.scta-bni.org/

USFRA — Utah Salt Flats Racing Association
Post Office box 27365
Salt Lake City, UT 84127-0365
Phone and fax (801) 583-3765
http://www.saltflats.com/

Races at Lake Gairdner are sanctioned by the Dry Lakes Racing Association in Australia.
http://www.dlra.org.au/

World land speed record runs are officiated by the FIA — Federation International de L'Automobile.
http://www.fia.com/

For information on how you can help support the Save The Salt campaign, contact Rick Vesco at (801) 723-7737.

More LSR information sources

Here are some more links to Web pages that provide information about Land Speed Record racing.

Bonneville 200 MPH Club
http://www.bonneville200mph.org/

Bonneville Racing News
http://www.roadsters.com/brn/

Bonneville Speed Week — Dave Mann visits the salt
http://www.roadsters.com/bonneville/

Breaking the Sound Barrier — Andy Green and the ThrustSSC team
http://www.roadsters.com/750/

Ugo Fadini Land Speed Record Models — In addition to being a master model builder, Ugo's site provides articles about the historically significant race cars he builds models of.
http://www.ugofadini.com/

Landracing.com — news and an active LSR forum
http://www.landracing.com/

The Speed Record Club — publishers of Fast FACTS
http://www.speedrecordclub.com/