The Bean Bandits have been racing various cars at the drags, the dry lakes and the salt for generations.

The Beck, Cummins, Davidson '28 roadster is directed by the starter - "Follow the black line until it stops". Maybe.

The Renck - Renck - Roberts roadster trucked in from Pueblo CO, and blazed through the beams at 180 mph on one run.

My favourite race team name - George Poteet's Camel Toe Racing brought this full sized '60 Ford over from Tennessee. It uses a Roush built Ford for power, though it didn't show in the results.

Lloyd “Hooley” Huffman, the worlds fastest postman, hadn't correctly warmed up the motor in his Studebaker, and warped the aluminium heads. He had to take them off and drive 80 miles into Salt Lake City, straighten them, face them, and put it all back together on the salt.

SoWhat is the ultimate low buck race team - their major investments in the Model A powered roadster were; $40 for the T-Bird blower, $40 for the MSD coil, and Scotsman Shug Hanchard was annoyed that it cost him $50 for a scatter shield - all the rest was free. Wife Irene got a drive too, and the car went 102.5 mph!

This was Harold Johansen's 55th Bonneville, so it could be assumed that he knows a thing or two about running at the salt or dry lakes. His nitro burning banger powered rods have run at up to 164 mph in previous years.

The Bakersfield Boys have run 195+ at El Mirage, so the all business '34 3-window was knocking on the door of the 200 mph club.


The Bean Bandits ran this fuel burning roadster that literally brought tears to the eyes of spectators, and a streamliner painted the same yellow. Read some of their rich history here.


Goldstrom & Jesel campaigned this MoPar powered deuce roadster street rod under the Nostalgia Street Rods banner.


Dry lakes and salt racers had flip up bodies before drag racers, so don't refer to this roadster as a funny car.

The large Camel Toe Racing Ford was painted in the Memphis Street Rods colours of gold and black.

Kerry's buddy Sumner Patterson in his '48 GMC pickup, which he drives absolutely everywhere, as you can plainly see. Sumner crews for and sponsors Hooley's orange Studebaker. You can catch a glimpse of his truck in this clip, taken last year ,of Hooley's car.

Shug's blown SBC powered streamlined T roadster ran 180 mph on its first run on day one, but the back up run was 156. Another run was at 175 - this is no Model A powered banger - it screams.

Harold has an amazing collection of all kinds of early Ford stuff. The driver of the car is the son of the Director of the SCTA, Lloyd Stehling, who punted the banger consistently around 108-110 mph in all stock running gear. They apparently ran 124 at El Mirage this year.

This view of the Bakersfield Boys '34 shows how the team keeps the salt out of the car - at least while it isn't moving. 

Hop-up Magazine is a strong supporter of the salt racer community, particularly those with banger power. They have a great party on the Monday night after the racing.

 
Yep, this Vegas based Nostalgia Street Rods car is pure street rod. Ok, maybe not, but it does run in the street rod class.

Gary Blakemore pushed the Blakemore\Shea team's chopped Blown Gas Altered '40 Coupe to 150 mph. 

The starters are real gentlemen. Here he's patiently explaining it all to a rookie,  and obviously effectively, as the Thundersalt Fairlane ran 147 mph. 

Snyders Salty Cuda was driven by Jim Snyder and Phil Grisotti, and one of them hit 212 mph! Jim says in this report to the Lakers, that he may need a roller cam & alloy heads, to go faster. There is always room for improvement, even after you have joined the 200 mph club.

Those racers who did a record run the day before, are the first out to back up their run, in the cooler, denser morning air. Hence this procession of record setters, well before breakfast.

Vince Norton, from East Wenatchee WA, gets the thumbs up from the starter, then heads out for a 187 mph run in his B\GR Model A roadster. This shot could have been in our upcoming Drivers story.