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At Bonneville, record holders must first earn the right to present themselves on the starting line. This requires passing rigorous safety and technical checks for driver, rider, and speed machine. Gender is inconsequential. Through the years, more than 200 women have made the cut and donned fireproof clothing and helmets. Dozens have set land speed records--35 in excess of 200 miles per hour, six above 300 miles per hour, and one deaf female racer who roared past 500 miles per hour. Equally impressive are the women who helped propel the helmeted gals into glory. Few know how many women are skilled fabricators, mechanics, crew chiefs, and all-round land speed racing experts, all working out on a brutal, merciless, and barren sodium-soaked playa. And for decades dedicated volunteers have not only put down that all-important starting line but erected a speed village that inspired tens of thousands to visit, taunting the timing lights run after run. Since 1949, women have played an integral part. Without question, land speed racing has more women actively participating and setting records than any other segment of motorsports in the world.
Astronaut John Glenn used Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats as a landmark from space, but on Earth, amateur motorsports devotees have used the blistering hot, flat land as a speed laboratory for more than a century. On August 22, 1949, the hot rodders joined the pageant of power with their handcrafted cars, trucks, and motorcycles for a one-time event but never stopped coming back, trying to go faster every run down the multi-mile course. All came looking for the answer to the same question: "How fast will it go?" Those efforts have made them the fastest people on the planet, reaching speeds in excess of 500 miles per hour. On the salt, people find the limits of their courage, learn what daring greatly is all about, and realize why a Bonneville Salt Flats speed record is an internationally respected pedigree. People who race on the salt flats become a family bound together by speed--a powerful force that erases ethnic, economic, political, and religious barriers. They are land speed racers. And this is their story.
At Bonneville, record holders must first earn the right to present themselves on the starting line. This requires passing rigorous safety and technical checks for driver, rider, and speed machine. Gender is inconsequential. Through the years, more than 200 women have made the cut and donned fireproof clothing and helmets. Dozens have set land speed records--35 in excess of 200 miles per hour, six above 300 miles per hour, and one deaf female racer who roared past 500 miles per hour. Equally impressive are the women who helped propel the helmeted gals into glory. Few know how many women are skilled fabricators, mechanics, crew chiefs, and all-round land speed racing experts, all working out on a brutal, merciless, and barren sodium-soaked playa. And for decades dedicated volunteers have not only put down that all-important starting line but erected a speed village that inspired tens of thousands to visit, taunting the timing lights run after run. Since 1949, women have played an integral part. Without question, land speed racing has more women actively participating and setting records than any other segment of motorsports in the world.
Astronaut John Glenn used Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats as a landmark from space, but on Earth, amateur motorsports devotees have used the blistering hot, flat land as a speed laboratory for more than a century. On August 22, 1949, the hot rodders joined the pageant of power with their handcrafted cars, trucks, and motorcycles for a one-time event but never stopped coming back, trying to go faster every run down the multi-mile course. All came looking for the answer to the same question: How fast will it go? Those efforts have made them the fastest people on the planet, reaching speeds in excess of 500 miles per hour. On the salt, people find the limits of their courage, learn what daring greatly is all about, and realize why a Bonneville Salt Flats speed record is an internationally respected pedigree. People who race on the salt flats become a family bound together by speed--a powerful force that erases ethnic, economic, political, and religious barriers. They are land speed racers. And this is their story.