Bonneville Speed Week Photos -- National Geographic

Driver, Bonneville Speed Week
Photograph by Andrew Owen, American Festivals Project
Speed devotees flock to the Bonneville Salt Flats in western Utah, a blindingly white plain that is one of the flattest, most obstacle-free places on Earth. They gather there several times a year, to chase the land speed record along a 10-mile (16-kilometer) strip called the Bonneville Speedway. In 2009, the American Festivals Project came to the salt flats for Speed Week, a once-a-year event that draws drivers and speed fans from far and wide.

Here, a driver waits for his support vehicle after completing his run.
Read more about the Bonneville Speed Week on the American Festivals Project blog.
Crash Scene
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Remnants from a fatal crash are scattered across the salt flats. The driver lost control of his car after passing the five-mile (eight-kilometer) mark at 200 miles an hour (322 kilometers an hour).
Mario Special
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Bobby Moore's Mario Special, a streamliner designed by a Boeing engineer, lines up for its inaugural test run on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Racer Suiting Up
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Russ Eierman adjusts his fire suit prior to his first run. If you ever go to Carson City, Nevada, Russ says, stay at the Nugget Hotel--the car's sponsor.
Race Crew
Photograph by Andrew Owen, American Festivals Project
A race crew waits for their turn on the track as a spectator speeds by on a motorcycle. Sometimes a driver may have to wait up to three hours for a turn on one of Bonneville's two tracks.
Streamliner Motorcycle
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A racer pulls away from the starting line on a streamliner, a custom-made motorcycle built for speed contests on the salt flats.
Race Car
Photograph by Andrew Owen, American Festivals Project
A Speed Week racer waits for a push car after his run. Not just anyone can race on the salt flats--the Southern California Timing Association requires all drivers to be licensed.
Speed Week Driver
Photograph by Andrew Owen, American Festivals Project
After reaching maximum speed, Bonneville drivers kill the engine, pull a parachute while rolling to a stop, and wait for their support vehicle to tow them back to the pits.
Parachute
Photograph by Andrew Owen, American Festivals Project
Parachutes are necessary to help slow cars on the slippery salt, which has only about half the grip of asphalt.
Bonneville Racer
Photograph by Andrew Owen, American Festivals Project
Speed Week draws all kinds of racers and vehicles, from classic roadsters to cutting-edge, custom motorcycles.
Belly Tank Lakester
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Josh Burke takes a test ride in a replica of the Belly Tank Lakester, a car designed by his grandfather, Bill Burke, in 1946. The original car was built from a World War II surplus airplane gas tank.
Team Vesco
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Team Vesco attends to Rhonnie Vesco and her Little Giant #444 after a speed record attempt. Vesco was the fastest woman in the 2008 World of Speed, an event held at Bonneville.
Motorcycle Racer
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
An assistant tries to block the sun for a motorcycle racer waiting for his start signal on the five-mile (eight-kilometer) course.
Black Oil Line
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A black oil line is the only marker for each of the three courses at Bonneville. There are no turns, no chances to slow down by banking.

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