This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The 100th season of land speed racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats has been a difficult one.
First, heavy rains cancelled the annual mid-August Speed Week. Now, the Southern California Timing Association's planned World Finals and rescheduled Speed Week that was to open Saturday has been cancelled due to water on the course.
SCTA President Scott Andrews and race director Bill Lattin reviewed the salt flats race courses and determined they are too wet to have any reasonable expectation of being dry enough to provide a quality race course.
The Utah Salt Flats Racing Association got in its meet on four courses in early September. The next week, Mike Cook's Shootout needed to be changed to a test and tune session due to standing water at the end of the long course and surface issues near the beginning.
That didn't prevent a bit of drama from occurring. The Speed Demon, which has been the fastest car on the salt in recent years, was making its first run of the year on Sept. 12 when it got sideways and, according to the car's website, rolled several times near the three-mile mark on the course.
Driver George Poteet walked away from the car and was taken by ambulance to Salt Lake City for observation. According to the website, data loggers showed Speed Demon was racing near 370 mph when the crash occurred.
Poteet, who suffered only bruises, plans to bring the car back to the salt in 2015.