SPEED WEEK 2021

You would be forgiven for thinking the meet was doomed based on the apocalyptic conditions of the first day of Speed Week. Nearby wildfires filled the sky above the Bonneville Salt Flats with a brimstone haze, while whipping wind gusts toppled canopies and stirred up salt and dust, turning an already angry sky into something looking like the end of days. The doom was short-lived, thankfully. Growing up in northeastern Ohio, we had an expression, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait a day.” Indeed, it was possible to experience an entire year’s worth of seasons in Cleveland over a period of 48 hours, and such was the case in Wendover, Utah, this year. Fire and brimstone skies gave way the next day to azure blue with fluffy white clouds and enough sunshine to immediately cure a chronic case of seasonal affective disorder. The favorable conditions remained throughout the week, giving Speed Week 2021 some of the best racing conditions in years.

“Bonneville was as good as I can remember; the salt was tremendous,” racer Danny Thompson