Honoring the 100th Anniversary of Bonneville

The Century of Speed exhibit at the 65th annual Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) brought together around 60 of land speed racing’s (LSR) most unique cars in a variety of categories and classifications. Ron Main approached the promoters of the GNRS with the idea of having a very special exhibit of LSR cars. John and Annika Buck liked the idea and devoted space in one of the buildings to Main and others in the SCTA/BNI to organize a special exhibition, The Century of Speed. This special show also made it possible to showcase Main’s and David Fetherston’s remarkable book Bonneville, a Century of Speed. The first 2,000 books were donated by Main and Fetherston to the Save the Salt program, which is working to replace the salt on the famed Bonneville Salt Flats in western Utah. Many hard-working volunteers came together to help Main fill the building with LSR cars and sponsor booths, and visitors came from all over the world to view this special exhibit.

The moment I entered the cavernous Building 9 where The Century of Speed was displayed, I was overwhelmed. The scope and breadth of the cars and motorcycles shown was simply amazing. Main and the volunteers spent a great deal of time giving this exhibit a very special look. It took me quite a while to move in and around the aisles before I could truly appreciate all of the racers’ histories and vehicles on display. My family has been involved in LSR since 1931, and we are relative newcomers compared to the first competitors from Europe and Daytona Beach.

In 1914, a four-cylinder, 300-hp Blitzen Benz ran at the Bonneville Salt Flats and was clocked at 142.8 mph. The current record, as of 2014, for a wheel-driven, piston-powered vehicle is over 430 mph; no wonder the exhibit is called The Century of Speed.

Land speed racing is one of the two original automotive speed sports, the other one being town-to-town road racing. There’s no prize money or purse to be won in LSR; it’s simply the pursuit of human and machine against time itself. LSR is a sport of gentlemen and ladies, and also egos and stubbornness. Whatever glory is to be found is fleeting, but that isn’t why men and women compete, it’s the sheer thrill of making a vehicle and design transcend all that has gone before. Even if a land speeder succeeds in breaking an existing record barrier, he or she will encourage another LSR team to break their record. We usually think in terms of “how fast or how many miles per hour we can go,” but in LSR, the actual contest is against time. It’s time that we challenge and our enemies are wind, weather, breakage, aerodynamics, endurance and a host of other problems.

What follows are most of the race vehicles at the Grand National Roadster Show’s The Century of Speed. I hope that John Buck will give us another exhibit at a future show to bring together more of these record-setting and unique vehicles for the public to enjoy.

Modified roadster (Pete Aardema), 2004 Ack Attack world’s fastest motorcycle streamliner (Mike Akatiff), 1949 So-Cal streamliner (Paul Atkins), 1970 Pontiac coupe (Gale Banks), motorcycle-powered streamliner car (Dave Brant), 1952 Buick Super Artcar (Jeff Brock), 1934 Ford So-Cal coupe (Bruce Canepa), 1971 Triumph GT6 modified sport (Keith Copeland), the blue roadster (Mike Cook Jr)., Alfa/Romeo modified sports class (Mike Cook Sr.), Yacoucci/Costella streamliner (Jack Costella).

Mike Akatiff is a major competitor and record-setter in streamlined motorcycles. Gale Banks has raced and sponsored numerous entries and his Gale Banks Engineering company is well-known in racing circles. Mike Cook is the promoter of Cook’s Shootout, an invitation-only Bonneville time trials reserved for the fastest LSR cars. Mike’s family goes back a long way in land speed and early drag racing. His father, Doug Cook, was a partner in the Stone, Woods & Cook drag car. His son Mike Cook Jr. continues his father’s legacy.

The red, white and blue star-spangled flag paint job adorns Bruce Crower’s streamliner. Others were the 2007 sidecar motorcycle streamliner (Tim Cunha), 1990 A/Blown fuel streamliner (Robert Dalton), 1934 world’s fastest Ford roadster (Dave Davidson), 1909 Blitzen Benz (Bill Evans), 1950 Ed Miller lakester (Don Ferguson Jr.), 2000 Ferguson streamliner (Don Ferguson Jr.), 2013 streamliner (Rob Freyvogel), 2013 beast sprint car (Damion Gardner), 2008 Mormon Missile streamliner (Lynn Goodfellow), 1942 P-38 belly tank lakester (Bobby Green), 2008 lakester (Scott and Seth Hammond), 1920 Burt Munro Indian Scout motorcycle (Tom Hensley), 1934 Ford street roadster (Jim Jard), 2005 Dodge Ram pickup (Wayne Jesel), Knapp streamliner (Jim Knapp), 1992 Pontiac Firebird (Jerry Kugel), 1959 Red Head streamliner (Bill Lattin), 1937 Harley Davidson motorcycle streamliner (Jim Lattin), 1928 Frank Lockhart reproduction streamliner (Jim Lattin), 1941 Stu Hillborn dry lakes lakester.

The 1909 Blitzen Benz represents the first car in The Century of Speed and was famous in its day. Jim Lattin has a large museum filled with motorcycles and race cars, and he often invites racers to his museum when he completes a restoration on one of his famous race cars. Jerry Kugel’s Firebird ran at Bonneville with a lot of fanfare. Kugel is a master hot rod and roadster builder and the speculation was that his doorslammer would set some serious records. It did, beating my brother’s (David Parks) record by 81 mph in two separate categories. Don Ferguson Jr. represents another LSR family with a history in the sport encompassing three generations. He also has an impressive collection of valuable old race cars.

From the Museum of American Speed came the Wee Eel streamliner (John Mackichan), 1997 Freight Liner diesel truck (Don Lemmons), 1989 streamliner (Mackichan/Schulz), 1990 Honda CRX-JDM (Miriam MacMillan), 1929 Ford roadster (Mike Manghelli), 1929 Ford Model-A William Brothers roadster (Tom McIntyre), 1952 Tommy Thompson streamliner (Tom McIntyre), McLeish motorcycle powered lakester (Derek McLeish), 1934 So-Cal Speed Shop Ford coupe (Bruce Meyer), 1948 So-Cal Speed Shop belly tank (Bruce Meyer), 1929 Ford roadster (Bruce Meyer), 2001 Nish Motorsports streamliner (Mike Nish), 2008 Speed Demon streamliner (George Poteet), 1969 Plymouth Barracuda Blowfish (George Poteet), 1985 Chevrolet Camaro (Jack Rogers), Bonneville streamliner (Amir Rosenbaugh), 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona (Lee Sicilio), 1968 Chevrolet Camaro (Tony Taormina), and the 2010 SWIGZ Pro-Racing Electric Superbike (Dana Williamson).

Bruce Meyer began collecting and restoring rare racing vehicles before it was popular to do so and has a remarkable collection. George Poteet and Ron Main with their Flat Fire and Speed Demon have almost monopolized the top speeds at Bonneville for many years. Main is a colorful character in his own right, with a massive collection of hot rod and movie collectibles. He also created Main Attractions, which sold old Hollywood movies.

Jim Travis lengthened the original 1960 squat streamliner named Pumpkinseed into the more streamlined version seen today. Travis built the 1957 Plymouth Savoy reproduction car called Suddenly. The original car was driven by Wally Parks at Daytona Beach and set the stock car record. Ray Brock then ran Suddenly at Bonneville, and after that the car was lost to history. Other vehicles in the exhibit included: 1932 Ford roadster (Chet Thomas), Thomas streamliner (Dave Thomas), 1968 Mickey Thompson Challenger II streamliner (owned by his son Danny Thompson), 2014 Target 550 streamliner (Marlo Treit), 2011 motorcycle-powered streamliner car (Jim and Mary True), 2013 Kent Fuller streamliner (Don Tubbs), 1929 Ford roadster (Steve Van Blarcom), Class H streamliner (Dennis Varni), 909 Bonneville streamliner (Dennis Varni), the Markley Brothers belly tank (Dennis Varni), the Bob Herda streamliner (Dennis Varni), the Triumph Orange Crate streamliner (Dennis Varni), 1957 Vesco streamliner (Rick Vesco), 1988 Vesco Turbinator streamliner (Rick Vesco), 1932 Ford roadster (Tom Walsh), 1969 Camaro Big Red (Dave Ward), 1950 Kurtis-built Cummins diesel (Bruce Watson), 1991 motorcycle streamliner (Sam Wheeler), and the 1927 Ford modified roadster (Anthony Young).

Danny Thompson is still active in land speed racing and will attempt to take one of his father’s old cars and go after a record in his class at Bonneville. Dennis Varni has one of the nicest collections of famous LSR vehicles.

---