Salt & Speed

Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats are home to three annual speed events where racers can go all in with whatever speed device meets their fancy.

There’s a salt flat on the playa with long blue lines and a track that runs through it. It’s a space often heard of but seldom visited, a space where fortune is invested, dreams made and friendships forged — all in the name of speed. Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats are home to three annual speed events where racers can go all in — on or in — whatever speed device meets their fancy. At the World of Speed, in early September, the starting line is home to jet-influenced “streamliners,” old school muscle cars, shrouded motorcycles, scooters and everything in between. If you’re willing to build it, and work through the speed categories, you’re welcome to run it.

It’s a setting described by Monte Widdison, vice president of Utah Salt Flats Racing Association, as “the last bastion of high-end amateur racing in the world.” As a photographer associated with foot traffic and highballs, I had no idea what to expect from the land of speed freaks and oversized engines. After four long days and a glimpse under the hood, I realized this tribe of wrench twisters and daring drivers, alone in the desert, are simply an extension of the thrill seekers I call my own — out on the fringe, welcoming and friendly, likely with a beer in hand, and a smile from cheek to cheek.

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A motorsports legacy, the Bonneville Salt Flats have been home to land speed record runs for more than a century.

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A classic on the line get's the young guns dancing.

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A bullet on two wheels looking for a new speed record.

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World record-setting racer Alp Sungurtekin gets a running start atop his hand-built racing machine.

"The salt flats first began to form at the end of the last Ice Age, when the salty waters of ancient Lake Bonneville began to recede. Lake Bonneville covered approximately one-third of Utah and was almost 1,000 feet deep in the area of the salt flats."

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Monte Widdison, vice president of Utah Salt Flats Racing Association, can be found on the starting line sending drivers off from sun up to sun down.

"Bonneville’s terrain is an ideal speedway — it’s barren and flat, with winter rains creating a surface as hard as concrete in the warmer months."

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Speeds reached on the long track are so high that conventional braking does little, so parachutes are deployed to bring the cars to a stop.

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Jason "Opi" Marsh minutes after breaking 260 mph and setting a new salt flats record.

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The fastest Chevy 57 in the world working on slowing it down.

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On the salt flats, you can find out just how fast your 36 horsepower Volkswagen bug can go.

"The depth of the salt flats crust has deteriorated significantly in recent decades, likely due to climate and salt mining. Scientific studies and restoration efforts are underway to try and preserve the historic area for future generations."

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Camaraderie and community run deep on the salt flats.

About the Photographer – Jeremiah Watt

Jeremiah "Miah" Watt strives to share the power of human experience through compelling photography. He brings a unique perspective of personal experience combining a lifestyle of adventure sport (which originally brought him to photography) and an academic eye cultivated while completing a MFA in photography. Based in Salt Lake City with his wife, son and big dog, his biggest challenge is balancing time on the rock and water with that behind a lens. He splits his time documenting worthwhile endeavors for commercial and conservation clients worldwide and is looking forward to connecting on your latest possibility.

Salt & Speed

"The salt flats first began to form at the end of the last Ice Age, when the salty waters of ancient Lake Bonneville began to recede. Lake Bonneville covered approximately one-third of Utah and was almost 1,000 feet deep in the area of the salt flats."

"Bonneville’s terrain is an ideal speedway — it’s barren and flat, with winter rains creating a surface as hard as concrete in the warmer months."

"The depth of the salt flats crust has deteriorated significantly in recent decades, likely due to climate and salt mining. Scientific studies and restoration efforts are underway to try and preserve the historic area for future generations."

Bonneville Salt Flats

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