BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS — Drivers and crew refer to it as "salt fever." It's the reason, they say with a smile, they keep coming back to the salt year after year after year.
Just one day on the salt often times turns into a lifelong quest.
And the only relief comes in August when they are lured back to the famous raceway for just one purpose — to go faster than they did the year before.
So each year, they pack up the trailer with their race cars, spare parts and tools and take whatever highways lead them to Bonneville. Once there, they pitch canopies, take out the folding chairs, ice the coolers, smear on sunscreen and race.
This year there were more than 400 entries in the 56th edition of Bonneville Speed Week. Each and every one came to tack on more miles at top end and, if the salty track is cooperative, set a new land-speed record.
This year, consensus is, the salt is in great shape for racing. Already, more than 50 records have fallen to higher speeds.
Top honors go to Mike Nish, who set an unlimited record of 373 mph. Also, an electric car, with 10,000 D-cell batteries, set a speed record of 308 mph.
Jeff Shipley, who jokingly admits he has a bad case of "salt fever," has been running on the salt since 1958. He proudly calls himself "crew chief" of the extended streamliner owned and driven by Dave Haas. But, he's also quick to note that he is the owner/driver of a similar streamliner.
Both vehicles have two engines — one powering the front wheels and one the back. The one difference is that in Shipley's car, the engines are mounted sideways and are belt-drive.
His plans were to run only the front engine in each car until it was dialed in, then run with both engines. He was hoping to hit speeds around 250 mph in the Haas car, then kick in both engines and "with the two engines the car has the potential of 450 mph." Which would, if he's successful, set a new high-speed record for a wheel-driven car with blown engines.
His car, he projected, has the potential of speeds slightly more than 400 mph.
Gary Calver, of Auburn, Wash., has been coming each year to Bonneville since 1989. It was, he remembers, "Something I always dreamt about as a boy. Now I'm here and hope to set a record." Top speed for his car, which resembles a mini-sub with pointed nose and tail, is 199 mph. He's shooting for a record of 209 mph.
Brothers Ed and Glen Carter, from the Southern California area, have been coming to the salt for 35 years. For 17 of those years they took turns driving a 1981 Camaro. Four years ago they introduced their new car, a 1993 Corvette. Last year, between them, they set three records. Top speed was 240 mph.
This year they put in a larger engine, 500 cubic inches, and are hoping to hit between 250 and 255 mph.
The only question comes down to who will drive?
"We flip a coin," Glen Carter said jokingly. "Early in the week the winner drives. Towards the end of the week, it's the loser who has to drive."
Randall Krystosek, of Evansville, Ind., admits that while more miles per hour is the objective, creative technology is every bit as rewarding to him.
"Our car isn't the fastest compared to most cars out here. What is rewarding to me is being able to accomplish things I wasn't previously able to do. It's more about engineering and solving problems."
Krystosek has been coming to Bonneville since 1986.
Salt fever has struck three generations of the Bryant family. Tom Bryant first came to Bonneville in 1957 and drove for the first time in 1958. Not too long after that his sons began joining him on the salt.
"My dad has a passion for the salt and we've all gotten it from him," Dan Bryant said.
Currently, there are five Bryants in the prestigious "200 MPH Club," including Tom, along with his sons Jeffrey, Barry, Gary and Dan. This year the goal is to get Tim, a grandson, into the club. If successful, the Bryants would hold the record for the most club members from one family.
Early in the week, Tom, who is 74, stepped back into the modified 1934 family roadster with the extended nose and drove a shakedown run of 243 mph.
Bob Sirna, of Rockchester, Mich., is another of those who dreamed of someday driving for a record on the Bonneville salt. Four years ago he came, was bitten by "salt fever," he joked, and is now hooked.
Although his choice of cars may seem unusual, a 1955 Gull Wing Mercedes Benz, he's quick to justify his choice. "It's not so unusual. It's a wonderful car. They were race cars back in the 1950s. Then the factory turned them into boulevard cars and sold 1,400 of them.
"Basically, the car is stock. It produces 413 horsepower with a 183-cubic-inch engine. It's got all the horsepower we need to set a record; we just need to figure out how to put the power onto the ground."
Earlier this week, John Fitch, 87, a former race driver for Mercedes, came to Bonneville to try for the record in the Benz. He made an attempt last year, but engine problems slowed the car.
"Bonneville is very humbling," Sirna said. "You're at 4,000 (feet in elevation), you get 81 percent of the available horsepower, and you've got temperature and salt issues. This track does in a lot of hot-rodders who come here to race."
Jim Leininger, of Southern California, came to Bonneville for a different reason, which was to help organizers establish an new hybrid class. And, he explains, to test the new Toyota Prius, a gas/electric hybrid.
The technology behind the car varies the combination of gas and electric power called for based on requirements, he explains. Earlier in the week the stock model turned in a run of 129.4 mph, which is about one mile per hour for each available horsepower.
"We're working with the club to have this as a new class by next year," he adds. "There will be a lot more of these cars available for people in the future and people are using this type of vehicle for more and more sporting events, such as Auto-cross and things like that. Someone needed to step forward and get things going."
Racing will wrap up on the salt on Friday. Some will return in September for the World of Speed, and some will come to the salt for the World Finals in October. Most, however, will return home to plan for a run on the salt next August.
E-mail: grass@desnews.com