English prof speaks on the fast and the furious of the ’30s
Sir Malcolm Campbell, from Great Britain, breaks the land speed record at just more than 300 mph in 1935.
John Cobbs, also from England, surpasses that record at 350 mph in 1938.
And in 1947, Cobbs almost reaches the 400 mark at 394 mph.
And this all took place in Utah, on the Bonneville Salt Flats west of Salt Lake City.
These are only some of the surprising facts presented by Ron Shook, who is an associate professor of English, on Friday night in the Merrill Library.
In fact, the Bonneville Salt Flats are more famous in England than here.
“Everybody in Britain knows about Bonneville, but they don’t know where it is,” Shook said.
Shook showed slides of bizarre to beautiful vehicles which raced at the salt flats from the earliest days to more recently.
The “Mormon Meteor” was a car of particular interest which was driven by Utahn Ab Jenkins. This car, which raced in the ’30s, resembles more of a rocket with wheels than a car. Shook said Jenkins was “the godfather of the Bonneville Salt Flats” for bringing the British racers to Utah.
Shook also spoke about the peculiarity of the salt flats.
“It’s one of the few places on land where you can see the curvature of the earth,” he said. “It’s 30,000 acres of nothing at all.”
Walk out on the salt flats far enough away from the road, Shook said, and one will lose all perspective.
“It’s an unearthly beauty,” he said.
The salt flats are great for racing because they are perfectly flat and the salt is good on tires, Shook said.
“Bonneville is one of the safest places to go fast,” he said.
Ryan McBride, a senior majoring in photography who attended the presentation, grew up in Grantsville, Utah, which isn’t too far from the salt flats and is a regular at the Bonneville Salt Flats race meets.
“I’ve been to every one since as long as I can remember,” he said.
McBride has also been on a couple of pit crews during the race meets. Even though he suffers through the heat in the summer, he said, the race meets are worth it.
“It’s exhilarating, actually,” he said.
Shook said the race meets take place two to three times a year.
He is currently co-writing a book on the history, stories, pictures and ecology of the Bonneville Salt Flats with Brigham Young University historian Jessie Embry. They are in the finishing stages and Shook said it should be completed this spring.
The Friday night presentation was part of the Friends of the USU Libraries Lecture Series.
-joelfeathers@cc.usu.edu