Report By Tom Racz

Despite the fact that we thrashed (and thrashed), we were unable to get our lakester project ready to run. However, we made a decision to bring the car to Bonneville anyway, run it through Tech to get a feel for where we were at (It turned out to be a great decision). So, after packing up, Spock and I headed down the road.

We made it through Tech in about 1 1/2 hours. We were pleased with the "official" feedback as there were only minor changes required. At one point, there were five inspectors checking the Lakester out.

Overall they seemed to be impressed with our efforts thus far. In fact, one suggested we make some final adjustments, complete some wiring and run the course! Confidence building for sure but that wasn't why we were there.

With Tech behind us, we just hung out in the pits and on the tracks for the next three days getting a feel for the surroundings - realizing that there was a lot more to this than we first thought. The overall ambience was overwhelming.

In retrospect, I can't imagine us trying to run a fresh car and crew competitively without this first, exploratory, visit under our belt.

We feel that, after all the tech info, reviewing other similar lakesters and getting all the firsthand experiences of the salt, we won't be satisfied just getting here, we want a run at the record….

In keeping with the team spirit and friendly atmosphere, we also helped out a fellow Calgarian, Gord Driedger, who was running a modified 50's Studebaker. The car runs a flatty like our lakester.

On the last run of the day, Gord ran a 156.066mph, just 0.6mph of the current record! I can't express how exciting it was to watch the car gain 1mph every time it ran. And, being a part of it, was tremendous. The whole world disappears around you as you focus on every aspect that would generate more speed.

We can't wait to get back!

Overall, it was a very positive experience, and we gathered lots of great info.

Stay tuned as we'll be updating the web site as we progress.