It’s all about speed

El Mirage land Speed Races — El Mirage Land Speed Races

It’s all about speed

How fast is driving a car 200 mph, 250, or even 300 plus mph? Of course, we all know that it is super fast, but it's hard to realize what those speeds are really like until we see these cars in person. Even when you see them flying by at those speeds, it's hard to get a sense of the magnitude of those speeds. That's until you see the faces of the driver's mentality preparing for their run; that's when you get it.

We are talking about land speed races or time trials. Cars and motorcycles compete for points and try to break the record for the fastest vehicle in their race class when less than one mph can make a record difference.

SCTA/BNI sanctioned land speed race events are held at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and in the high desert in Southern California at the El Mirage dry lake bed, where we covered the October event.

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Land speed dry lake bed racing

El Mirage recreation area is a vast 24400-acre off-road area to ride motorcycles, ATVs, and other OHV's and is also home to the El Mirage Time Trials Land Speed Races. The length track or strip is 1.3 miles, with an extended shutdown area at the end. Five vehicles broke the 200 mph mark at this October event. The event is not entirely about the fastest vehicle; it's more the fastest in their class. Still, it's always fun to watch the fastest ones.

Due to their gear ratio, the cars get off the line with a push vehicle. It is not critical to how fast they get off the starting line. They have plenty of room to get to their top speed as the track is very long.

The race vehicles also need to be pushed, pulled, or other means when off the track due to safety reasons. The SCTA promotes safety at the events with thorough vehicle inspections and other safety rules.

A long history of dry lake bed racing

Eleven clubs makeup and contribute to SCTA (Southern California Timing Association), which started over 50 years ago in Southern California. Members volunteer their time to the success and safety of the land speed racing sport.

Like most car-related events, the El Mirage dry lake racing is family-friendly. You can watch the cars and motorcycles going down the track at a safe distance. You can get close to the vehicles, check them out, and talk to the owners, drivers, and builders in and around camp or near the staging areas. You might see some cool old cars and motorcycles in and around the area that are not participating in the event.

Lot’s of fun and a bargain to watch

The event is free to watch, but you need to pay to get into the park. As of this writing, it was 15.00 for one day, which is good until noon the following day, and 30.00 for all week. Once you get in the park, head down to the dry lake bed and start heading west on the dry lake bed, you don't need a truck or SUV; a regular family sedan is fine. The lake bed is super smooth, but it can get very dusty at times, but it is well worth it. You can even come up the day before and camp out there near the track or stay in one of the nearby city's about 45 min or so away. I am looking forward to going to this event again.