Just posted on Insatgram:
QuoteSW Pre-Trip - Update #2 (6/23/21)
Firm+smooth=FAST - It?s as simple as that! 👊🏼
We've done our job, the rest is up to Mother Nature.🙏
Course #1 & #2 are groomed to the 7 Mile, but we have 9+ miles if you need it. It is as good as any Salt in recent memory. Course #3 will again be used for Rookies & Licensing. It Will be timed to the 2 1/4 mile for Long Course qualifying. It will be open to anyone wishing to run 2 miles.
We're headin' home in the morning since our job is done. The only thing the Salt needs now is YOU!! Don't miss out!
?SEE YA ON THE SALT!?
Bill Lattin - BNI Chairman
Pat McDowell ? SCTA President
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQgvkI4HMhu/?utm_medium=copy_link (https://www.instagram.com/p/CQgvkI4HMhu/?utm_medium=copy_link)
Mike :clap
:cheers: :cheers: positive waves!!!
The pictures that were posted on the Bonneville and El Mirage page look awesome.
Still have a ways to go but heres hoping for fast salt. Up here in the northwest, we are cooking in these very high temps!
Quote from: 07R1LSR on June 27, 2021, 08:57:56 AM
Still have a ways to go but heres hoping for fast salt. Up here in the northwest, we are cooking in these very high temps!
Yes, it's great training weather for the salt. I spent a couple hours in the 98 degree shade yesterday working on the race bike. If I closed my eyes I could imagine I was working under a popup in the pits.
My Brother and I did Rocky Mountain Race Week this year as total Rookies. Great Bend, Kansas was about 95*. The drive to Pueblo, Colorado was about 98*. Pueblo was 95*, thanks to a generous cloud for most of the day. The drive to Morrison was the beginning of three days of 103*-105* heat. The drive from Morrison to Kearney, Nebraska was a brutal twelve hour, 500 mile test with an estimated near 200* floor temp. Back in Great Bend, it was "only" about 98* for the final day. I think I am more ready for Speed Week than in years past
(https://scontent-msp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/205963447_10159568925544468_6881190147411403700_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=0debeb&_nc_ohc=y_eDARHLPQsAX9sk4XB&_nc_ht=scontent-msp1-1.xx&oh=65c996d7c6767a310745bab7de54b0a4&oe=60DDE66A)
Yoo-hoo! Fairmont for the win!
(https://i.imgur.com/AwsfRnt.jpg)
Quote from: 4-barrel Mike on June 27, 2021, 04:27:14 PM
Yoo-hoo! Fairmont for the win!
If we would not have turned in a 10.9XX ticket for the first day, we would have been on the box for the 11.000 class. Our average for the last four days was two hundredths quicker than the class winner's average. Not too bad for a couple of kids from Iowa & Nebraska (my Brother) with a car that was recently finished, and only had four passes on it the week prior to the event. We had 13 passes and 1300+ trouble free miles over the seven day event. Now I want to build one for myself...
(https://scontent-msp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/204074394_10159562202859468_4830249346284539477_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=0debeb&_nc_ohc=Bae32ME7RP8AX8djvil&_nc_ht=scontent-msp1-1.xx&oh=3ea1c9873e308b7760cc07b320d09ccf&oe=60DED9FB)
We did Drag Week & Rocky Mt in a Duramax powered street rod a few years ago. It's a disease just like Bonneville but I cured myself of that short course thing. :-D
Sid.
Quote from: kiwi belly tank on June 28, 2021, 09:24:57 AM
We did Drag Week & Rocky Mt in a Duramax powered street rod a few years ago. It's a disease just like Bonneville but I cured myself of that short course thing. :-D
Sid.
lol8
I totally agree with the disease part. I told my Brother I would go to Race Week every year he plans to enter. The cat that I go to Bonneville with is just getting his bike finished, so that may become a yearly adventure, as well. I am lucky enough to have enough vacation to make both events every year now.
Larry Reber of BMST (he drags the course) posted video of the salt yesterday, showing pretty much zero salt on his truck's tires or wheel wells. Said it's smooth and rock hard.
JULY 2021 STRAIGHT AWAY NEWS
At the time this letter was written we had just completed grooming three courses. Course #1 is 8+ miles long and will be up to 10+ miles by August. Course #2 is 8+ miles long and Course #3 at this time is set up to the 2 ? timed miles. The salt is so smooth, hard, and durable that we could have gotten away with not dragging at all. The thickness of the salt has increased modestly, however the distribution is far more uniform which has led to a smoother and harder surface. The course layout is the same as last year except we are adding course 3. Some of our old time members / volunteers / drag crew with over 50 years of experience say that they have not seen this good of a salt surface in a long time!
GOOD YEAR techs will be on site for your tire needs and issues.
In conclusion, as long as Mother Nature cooperates, this will be one of the best Speedweek events in history. Pack your bags, load your vehicles and we will see you on the salt.
Always remember faster is better, most of the time!
Bill Lattin
BNI Chairman
If you're real lucky, you'll get to see something like this. Not this, and probably not quite the same, but something you'll remember for a long time . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLkVB-t-Z7o&feature=email
Currently raining in Bendover
Station on the flats recorded no rain and camera this am shows no puddles. :clap
Here is the latest update on Facebook about the salt conditions! Sounds like it's looking great! Can't wait to get there!
SCTA Southern California Timing Association
13h ?
Speedweek Update #1 (7/31/21)
TODAY WAS OUR FIRST FULL DAY ON THE SALT. DRAGGING STARTED THIS MORNING ON COURSE #1. BELIEVE ME, PICTURES DO NOT SHOW HOW GOOD THE SALT ACTUALLY IS. IT TRULY IS THE BEST SALT IN A LONG LONG TIME. DESPITE WHAT YOU MAY HAVE HEARD, COURSE #1 IS LIKE A HIGHWAY ALL THE WAY DOWN. NO TRUTH TO THE RUMOR THAT IT IS ROUGH FROM THE 3 TO THE 5 MILE! COURSE #1 IS FINISHED. COURSE #2 DRAGGING WILL BEGIN EARLY TOMORROW.
WE ARE SHARING THE SALT WITH THE ROCKET CLUBS SO WE'RE TRYING TO STAY OUT OF EACH OTHERS WAY. THEY'LL BE FINISHED TOMORROW, THEN WE CAN MOVE ALONG TO COURSE #3. AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE FIRST PICTURE, THE SIGN AT LANDS END HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH A DUPLICATE. ALSO IN THE PICTURES YOU CAN SEE THE TRASH, WHICH AGAIN PROVES, "YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID".
THERE HAS BEEN WEATHER IN THE AREA BUT THE SALT REMAINS UNTOUCHED. IT TRULY IS THE BEST IT HAS BEEN IN MANY YEARS. ALL THAT'S MISSING IS YOU!
Pat McDowell
SCTA President
Bill Lattin
BNI Chairman
Okay - my "report" on the salt. I drove around quite a bit yesterday and sure enough, it's good out there.
First of all: the start lines for 1 & 2 are only a quarter mile or so from Land's End, so traffic is likely to become kinda messy with the access road close to the "staging" area. SLOW AND CAUTIOUS and remember to yield to race vehicles that are being moved.
Course #3 is a short short course for rookie runs and such, and it's around the bend of the dike. I didn't drive much over there but what I saw was fine.
Okay - the long course. It is good. I didn't find any brown spots (where the mud was showing through thin salt) on the course, and from the 5 to almost the 8 is smooth and dry and white. But drivers had better have things well under control by the 8 - - - because at the 8 1/2 it's all over and the crunchies start.
The turnoffs start after the 5 'cause before that point the salt is smooth enough that any ol' place to turn out is okay. Turnouts are every half mile.
The pits were pretty smooth with no dragging, but that was yesterday. Maybe they're even smoother now. Pits have an entrance every 1050 feet and go on for about a mile.
Enola Gay Cafe will be the food vendor, VP is the fuel truck (R.I.P. Rick Gold, by the way), there's at least one new SCTA trailer, and Ron Christensen and I will be on 89.3 or 89.7 or whatever frequency we can find that's quiet.
I've said enough for now and am going to greet Craig/Honey Buckets. Speaking of HB, if you've arranged for a private toilet/sink for your pit: Honey Buckets will be stashing a bunch of units near the pits and they'll help you get yours, and they'll also visit to do the paperwork. If you want a padlock to keep your unit pristine - ask Honey Buckets for one.
Deep enough!! See you on the salt.
Thank You Slim,
Were headed out tonight, Do you know if the Ice truck will be on the salt??
Thank You again,
Chris
I can only presume that the ice truck will be here, in the vendor area. I just now saw the VP semi motoring in. Jim Dunn is dragging a light drag around the main pit entrance, and I see there's a little pass-through drive near Impound and vendor area -- that's marked "Lattin ONLY".
"Latin ONLY" -- I had two years in high school -- I'll have to brush up on it.
I'll give you this stuff here instead of in a new topic:
The Turbinator suffered catastrophic damage on the dyno a few weeks ago and will not be at SpeedWeek 2021.
The Vesco #444 Little Giant has about 1100 hp available - it's a battery powered car now running a pair of Tesla motors. E classes are divided by weight: Under 500 kg, 500-1000 kg, and above. The car will be running E3 (over 1000kg) against the Buckeye Bullet's 314.958 from '04.
The fuel truck guys told me that they brought 50 gallons of nitromethane. 50 gallons. That is, 10 5-gallon pails. What? I tried to clarify what they said. Was that gonna be enough? Then I mentioned that to another racer who went to the truck, confirmed what I thought I'd heard, and said that he was gonna ask some of the fuel racers if they had brought their own. If I hear anything of interest I'll let youse guys know. By the way: $270/gallon. Burn 15 gallons on a run and that's about 4 kilobucks made into cool-smelling noise. You pays your money and you has your fun.
Danny Thompson is going to drive the 75 Ferguson 'liner, Doug and Frank are here with the 9997 Salt Cat for sale. Valerie Thompson will be riding the Turbo Tiger ZX14, and Mike Kilger and the 505 roadster is here.
More later.
Quote from: Seldom Seen Slim on August 05, 2021, 02:04:03 PM
By the way: $270/gallon. Burn 15 gallons on a run and that's about 4 kilobucks made into cool-smelling noise. You pays your money and you has your fun.
As of 2019, John Beck posted in my Roadster group on FB that the 911 runs 70-75% Nitro, and burns 36 gallons of mix in three miles.
Also, I believe I read that they will try to take it to the four mile this year.
Something doesn't ad up. I think nitro is about $1200 per 55 gal. barrel. In 5 gal. pails it probably is more per gallon but not $270
I see Speedweek fully under way, outhouse heading to the 5mi...
Yes there was a little wind storm late this afternoon... on the way on the access road well past the bend, I was almost T-boned by a couch... yep you read it right... my guess it came off a pick up truck on I-80... it was tumbling, endoing, flipping and traveling at about half wind speed.... maybe 45. I saw it, hit the gas, clobbered into one of the cushions but the couch passed behind the Bockscar by about 5 feet.
Lots of easy up tangles laying around... several porta potties down...
weather station recorded 68 mph gusts
J
Quote from: Stainless1 on August 05, 2021, 09:21:05 PM
Yes there was a little wind storm late this afternoon... on the way on the access road well past the bend, I was almost T-boned by a couch... yep you read it right... my guess it came off a pick up truck on I-80... it was tumbling, endoing, flipping and traveling at about half wind speed.... maybe 45. I saw it, hit the gas, clobbered into one of the cushions but the couch passed behind the Bockscar by about 5 feet.
Lots of easy up tangles laying around... several porta potties down...
What's the current record for blown couch? :roll:
Sid.
Quote from: kiwi belly tank on August 05, 2021, 09:50:39 PM
Quote from: Stainless1 on August 05, 2021, 09:21:05 PM
Yes there was a little wind storm late this afternoon... on the way on the access road well past the bend, I was almost T-boned by a couch... yep you read it right... my guess it came off a pick up truck on I-80... it was tumbling, endoing, flipping and traveling at about half wind speed.... maybe 45. I saw it, hit the gas, clobbered into one of the cushions but the couch passed behind the Bockscar by about 5 feet.
Lots of easy up tangles laying around... several porta potties down...
What's the current record for blown couch? :roll:
Sid.
I believe the current record is somewhat SOFT and even though it was LAYING DOWN on the qualifying run it should have enough Cushion to easily Set the record. 8-)
Quote from: Stainless1 on August 05, 2021, 09:21:05 PM
Yes there was a little wind storm late this afternoon... on the way on the access road well past the bend, I was almost T-boned by a couch... yep you read it right... my guess it came off a pick up truck on I-80... it was tumbling, endoing, flipping and traveling at about half wind speed.... maybe 45. I saw it, hit the gas, clobbered into one of the cushions but the couch passed behind the Bockscar by about 5 feet.
Lots of easy up tangles laying around... several porta potties down...
about 20 years ago we had a so tough storm on the salt....when I was on the way (out) to landsend I was overtook by an porta potty......my speedometer showed me 55+ mph....so this porta was in a real hurry to get off from the salt.....
the photo from Stainless shows a very interesting cloud formation.......you don't see them very often so far north....
maybe all three courses need now at first a proper clean up......
There's been a couch about 100' from the pavement for the last few days. I noticed it - thought it'd been left there for some purpose like viewing the mud flats. It was off-white (color) and was on the south/east side of the road. Maybe that's what chased you - not one from the freeway.
It's really amazing with all these storms we've been having that none of it has dumped on the salt. This morning started with rolling thunder then pi$$ing down & it's been like this for the last two weeks or so. It's just greener than green here!
Sid.
I'm just now heading out there. Everything (read: Inspection) is on hold while the wind mess from last nights' big blow is fixed up. It'll take a few hours or so.
But - the cleanup will be made more of a hassle by the heavy smoke this morning. Heavy enough that visibility is way down, and heavy enough that temps are about 20 degrees cooler than yesterday but heavy enough to make a mask to filter the air is a wise idea.
Worst of all is that the awning for the announce trailer blew off. It's a hinged piece of plywood that ain't gonna be easy to fasten back into the delicate aluminum of the elderly trailer. Wish us well.
Does anyone else remember the "couchmobiles" of the 70s & 80s? Quite a competition back then -- complete with floor lamps, easy chairs, etc. Strictly a Wendover-sourced vehicle with accessories from the Patio. Anyone got a picture?