Bonneville Speed Week 2022 - August 6 - 12 2022

When you look at the salt, you know you're in for an automobile adventure unlike any other. For nearly a century, Bonneville Speed Week has hosted Land Speed Record (LSR) attempts on the vast salt flats of northwest Utah. The Bonneville Salt Flats gained popularity as a 30,000-acre speed temple in the 1930s. If you're a casual car aficionado who needs things like neighboring rock concerts, midways, and swag to have a good time, this may not be the event for you. That being said, everyone who is obsessed with speed and automotive history knows that Bonneville Speed Week should be at the top of their bucket list.

This week-long event is likely best known for hosting massive, purpose-built, dart-like jet cars or slipstream belly-tank Lakesters fashioned from salvaged World War II aviation fuel cells. Having said that, there are record classes for almost every sort of vehicle and style of propulsion, from modern and vintage street cars to commercial semi trucks, motorbikes, and even pedal-powered bikes. In fact, Emme Hall of Roadshow achieved 208 mph in a customized 2019 Volkswagen Jetta at Bonneville in 2018. Because there are so many Land Speed Record classifications, Bonneville is one of the few sites where rank amateurs may show up and go away with their very own record.

Even before the pandemic, Bonneville Speed Week officials were no strangers to cancellations. Despite considerable preservation efforts, deteriorating salt conditions have forced them to abandon land-speed record attempts on multiple occasions in recent years. The 2022 proceedings have just been set for August 6-12, so put it at the top of your list because it's unclear how long this century-old tradition will be able to continue.

Don't miss: Bonneville Speed Week is a family affair for both spectators and participants. There are no velvet ropes here. Many multigenerational families are the foundation of this peculiar kind of racing, and most are terrific ambassadors for the sport, so make a point of talking to a couple of them.