bonneville salt flats driving experience

You can’t blame everything on potash mining.

Today, however, the salt on the flats is a fraction of the thickness it was at its peak, as factors including nearby potash mining have threatened its viability.

For close to a hundred years, racers have used the concrete-hard flats for land speed record runs, its miles and miles of expanse allowing for vehicles to reach upwards of 600 mph.

Thousands of years ago, a giant body of salty water called Lake Bonneville covered much of the state of Utah, the remnants of which make up the Great Salt Lake as well as the Bonneville Salt Flats.After four long days and a glimpse under the hood, I realized this tribe of wrench twisters and daring drivers, alone in the desert, are simply an extension of the thrill seekers I call my own - out on the fringe, welcoming and friendly, likely with a beer in hand, and a smile from cheek to cheek. It’s a setting described by Monte Widdison, vice president of Utah Salt Flats Racing Association, as “the last bastion of high-end amateur racing in the world.” As a photographer associated with foot traffic and highballs, I had no idea what to expect from the land of speed freaks and oversized engines. If you’re willing to build it, and work through the speed categories, you’re welcome to run it. At the World of Speed, in early September, the starting line is home to jet-influenced “streamliners,” old school muscle cars, shrouded motorcycles, scooters and everything in between. Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats are home to three annual speed events where racers can go all in - on or in - whatever speed device meets their fancy.

It’s a space often heard of but seldom visited, a space where fortune is invested, dreams made and friendships forged - all in the name of speed. There’s a salt flat on the playa with long blue lines and a track that runs through it.

Bonneville salt flats driving experience