Water on Utah's famous salt flats cancels Speed Week

Racing • Scheduled later in year

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Photographer stops at the end of the access road where pavement ends and salt begins to take a video of the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week."

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Folks stop at the end of the access road where pavement ends and salt begins and take a wade on the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week."

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Todd Landon from MInneapolis pushes his Mustang race car on the access road where pavement ends and salt begins at the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. He parked it there to at least get some video and photos of the car. No racing this week. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week."

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Trent Clare from Broken HIll, Austailia, poses for a funny photo at the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. He is kneeling in 3 or 4 inches of standing water on the salt flats from rains last week . The salt flats are usually dry this timeof year but given the current situation, "Speed Week" has been cancelled, at least for the short term.

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Folks stop at the end of the access road where pavement ends and salt begins and take a wade on the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week."

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Todd Landon from MInneapolis pushes his Mustang race car on the access road where pavement ends and salt begins at the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. He parked it there to at least get some video and photos of the car. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week."

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Tire tracks disappear from salt into three or four inches of water at the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Water covers the normally dry salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week."

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Folks stop at the end of the access road where pavement ends and salt begins and take a wade on the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week."

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Folks stop at the end of the access road where pavement ends and salt begins and take a wade at the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week."

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Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Photographer stops at the end of the access road where pavement ends and salt begins to take a video of the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week." Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Folks stop at the end of the access road where pavement ends and salt begins and take a wade on the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week." Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Todd Landon from MInneapolis pushes his Mustang race car on the access road where pavement ends and salt begins at the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. He parked it there to at least get some video and photos of the car. No racing this week. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week." Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Trent Clare from Broken HIll, Austailia, poses for a funny photo at the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. He is kneeling in 3 or 4 inches of standing water on the salt flats from rains last week . The salt flats are usually dry this timeof year but given the current situation, "Speed Week" has been cancelled, at least for the short term. Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Folks stop at the end of the access road where pavement ends and salt begins and take a wade on the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week." Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Todd Landon from MInneapolis pushes his Mustang race car on the access road where pavement ends and salt begins at the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. He parked it there to at least get some video and photos of the car. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week." Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Tire tracks disappear from salt into three or four inches of water at the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Water covers the normally dry salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week." Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Folks stop at the end of the access road where pavement ends and salt begins and take a wade on the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week." Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Folks stop at the end of the access road where pavement ends and salt begins and take a wade at the Bonneville Salt Flats Monday August 11, 2014. Three or four inches of water covers the salt flats from rains last week putting an end to "Speed Week."

By Tom Wharton The Salt Lake Tribune

· August 12, 2014 11:38 am

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 anniversary celebration of land speed racing on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats will have to wait a week or two.

Standing water on the famed speedway from recent rains forced the Southern California Timing Association to cancel its annual Speed Week Saturday, sending away disappointed, hundreds of drivers who had come in from all over the world.

In a voice message, SCTA media spokesperson JoAnn Carlson said that Speed Week had quickly been cancelled due to too much water on the course. A photo on the organization's website showed lake-like conditions with trailers surrounded by water.

"The SCTA Board is currently on the salt and has determined that the standing water will not dry in time for us to hold our annual Speed Week event," said a notice on the website. "The Board is discussing the possibility of extending our next event, the World Finals (September 30 to October 3) into a full week of racing as a sort of delayed Speed Week. We thank you all for your patience and understanding."

The next racing event scheduled on the salt flats is the International Motorcycle Speed Trials scheduled Aug. 23-29. The Utah Salt Flats Racing Association's World of Speed is scheduled Sept. 6-9. That will be followed by Cook's Landspeed Event and then the SCTA's World of Speed.

Optimism was high going into this year's events that several streamliners had a chance to become the first wheel-driven vehicles to go over 500 mph. Many of those cars, including Utah's Team Vesco and Nish Racing, will likely be on the salt later in the season if the weather cooperates.