![]() ![]() It sealed the fate of that first 1969 Charger R/T. That was it: Salt sickness, salt madness, whatever you want to call it, infected Lee. Shortly after acquiring that car, Lee made his first trip to Bonneville–in August 1997–for Speed Week. It was originally slated to become a Pro Street car. That along with a sense of humor, some imagination and a penchant for “The Dukes of Hazzard” reruns resulted in a General Lee clone sitting in his garage. ![]() With a love of hotrods and racing that started when he was 13, Lee has learned a thing or two about going fast. Lee Sicilio’s 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona is the latter. On the other end, you have a car with a built-in server sending information to the tuner’s laptop via Wi-Fi at the starting line. On one end, there’s the retired GM engineer in a beard and bib overalls doing long division in the salt to get more turbo boost on his ’32 coupe with a straight-eight. The range of participants and technology is just as diverse as the cars themselves. As one fellow put it, “It’s like camping on the moon with your hotrod.” ![]() Off in the distance will be a quickly approaching dot skimming across the salt followed by the growl of its engine as it passes you by at Mile 3. The soundtrack is the chatter of announcers over the CB radios. You’ll absorb the heat of the air, the cool of the salt, the smell of the race gas. Mechanics and drivers–often that’s the same person–are willing to take a moment to answer a question or talk about that flathead Ford stuffed into a semi-familiar shape. You will see open pits you can stroll through. There are no corporate sponsors, no drivers changing hats, and no one slugging down energy drinks during interviews. The Bonneville Salt Flats have a certain mystery and allure for anyone who’s never been there, but once you do go, you get it.Īnd what you get is the last bastion of racing, where the only reward for being the fastest is your name on a trophy. ![]() The words “Bonneville” and “Salt Flats” instantly conjure images of cars with wild shapes, insane horsepower and equally dizzying speeds. For a car nut of any sort, the Salt Flats of Wendover, Utah–and specifically Speed Week at Bonneville–are bucket-list destinations. ![]()
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