[Land-speed] mag article part 2

Askotto at aol.com Askotto at aol.com
Sat Mar 5 11:02:01 MST 2011


Pick an  event to run.
You  have three choices of race dates at Bonneville. Speed Weeks in August
is by far  the most popular.  If you want to  experience Bonneville at its
grandest, thatbs the race to attend.  The lines will be the longest but the
tradeoff is Speed Weeks has an effervescence none of the other events have.
The September event is run by the Utah  Salt Flats Racing Assoc. and is
lower key than either of the SCTA events.  The USFRA seems to be geared more
toward  fun and the beveryday racer.b  In  addition to all SCTA classes,
they
provide classes not available with the SCTA  where you shoot for a certain
mph speed with basically your street car,  providing it passes tech.  The
World  Finals in October is the last SCTA salt event of the year.
What to  bring to the salt
In  addition to the usual bracing stuffb like tools, jacks, extra parts
etc. there  are a few things you need that you usually wouldnbt think of,
like
an  umbrella!  Not only that, but an  umbrella lady to hold it over you
when youbre in line, strapped in and waiting  for launch. You are required
to
have a CB radio in your chase vehicle so they  can yell at you if you screw
up, like driving across one of the courses. Wear  airy, loose fitting, light
colored clothes, SPF 1000 sun blocker and wide brim  hats.  Expect the sunbs
rays to  reflect off the salt and up to parts of your body that have never
seen sunburn,  till now.  Drink lots of water to  stay hydrated.  Wear clean
sox and  undies in case you crash and have to go to the hospital.
Pit  etiquette
Usually the first thing you do is claim your pit territory.  Do this by
jumping out of your truck and  pissing on the salt, kidding.  The  spots along
the return road go first as they are bringside seatsb to the  tracks.  You
MUST place a water/oil  proof tarp down first so nothing drips from your
race car onto the salt.  The cheapie blue ones held down with big  metal nails
are popular.  When  setting up bpop-upbsb, be sure to secure them to the
salt with heavy weights or  metal spikes driven deep into the salt.  Thermals
will lift them straight up and you are responsible for any  damages.  Always
remove the covers  from the frames when the pit is unattended and at night.
 You will be better liked if you keep  your pit area tidy, i.e. beer cans
in a plastic bag.  Never dump any liquids on the salt,  including blowing
chunks.


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