John Burk wrote:
> 45 years ago the Utah highway dept. groomed the salt by draging 40 ft lengths
> of railroad track behind pickup trucks .
John,
I remember when the highway dept. prepared the course. SCTA is
experienced in preparing the race course, that tried everything
imaginable. In my opinion, there was nothing that would have helped the
course this year short of the rain we got. If it stays under water a few
days and then dragging starts as soon as it is dry enough, then there is
a good chance that it can be corrected.
I have been competing on the salt for 47 years and the last 18 years at
multiple meets. I thought that I had seen just about any kind of surface
that you can imagine...wet salt, pressure ridges five - six inches high,
hard as concrete, that left an uneven surface when dragged off), so dry
that it was brown, (surface like a rasp that worn out tires) rather than
the white we expect...so soft that you could kick holes in it with your
foot (1997 when we crashed). But never a course like this. I don't know
what caused this, but I suspect that the storm that blew through a few
weeks ago may have blown divots into the surface. I heard that there
were 90 MPH winds.
George Fields said that they tried to use a grader, but when the blade
was put down it lifted the tires off the salt. This was the hardest salt
I have ever seen and the most uneven surface I have seen. I just hope
that we don't see this again!
Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/FCC
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