![]() Wally Parks (then of the SCTA and moments from becoming HOT ROD's first editor), HOT ROD founder Robert Petersen, and one of his men, Lee O. By 1949 there was concern that the California lakes were becoming too rutted for racing (though El Mirage is still used today). Not the case, as rodders began using Southern California's dirt dry lakes in the early '30s, and in November 1937, the Southern California Timing Association was formed to organize six smaller hot rod clubs-some of which are still SCTA members-for lakes racing. “It’s ludicrous to just keep studying it until you do something.Many accounts vaunt Bonneville as the birthplace of hot rodding. ![]() “In the world I came from, you study something, you figure out what changes you need to make, you make the changes and then you go back and study it again to see if your changes had an effect on it,” claimed racer and Salt Flats Racing Association leader Dennis Sullivan. However, authorities haven’t taken swift (enough) action for some critics. ![]() Several researchers and racing advocates point to nearby potash (potassium-based salt) mining operations for drawing too much brine from the aquifer. When groundwater dilutes the aquifer's mineral-rich brine, the evaporated crust offers less salt year over year.Ī sufficient salt layer not only provides a consistent racing surface but also moderates tire temperatures at high speeds. The issue is rooted in a rapidly-depleting nearby aquifer. As a result, the once 13-mile track has shrunk to just 8 miles. Researchers report that the Bonneville salt crust has thinned by nearly 30 percent over the past 60 years.
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