The Bonneville Salt Flats is something that just about every motorsports enthusiast knows about. So much more than just a location on a map, Bonneville is a place where dreams are realized and legends made. For more than 100 years, the Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah has been the premier spot to break land speed records in cars, trucks, motorcycles, and custom built land rockets. One of the top record smashing events was Gary Gabelich’s 630 mph first run and 622 mph second run on October 23, 1970 in BlueFlame, a rocket powered specialty-built vehicle.

The BlueFlame helped Gabelich break the land speed record in October of 1970.

Recently, Bonneville has seen some degradation to its racing surface. An organization named Save the Salt Coalition teamed up with members of SEMA and others involved in land speed racing to help demonstrate that the iconic racing mecca could be restored and preserved for many years to come.

Near the end of the access road, around 2,000 tons of salt was laid out onto the muddy surface. The salt was smoothed out and dried, bringing back its concrete-like surface. The coalition worked closely with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) and Shelton Construction to make the project happen. Shelton Construction has had decades of experience working in and around the Bonneville area.

“The dry salt laydown project marks a milestone event as we celebrate a century of racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats,” said Doug Evans, chairman of the Save the Salt Coalition. Later this summer, the Coalition intends to take the next step and lay a 2 mile long strip of salt to become a new race track. BLM approval is pending; the BLM has thus far been extremely helpful in preserving the national treasure.

For more on the Bonneville Salt Flats, check out “The History of the Bonneville Speedway”. For ways to help the Save the Salt Coalition, visit their website at www.savethesalt.org.