Guys, I hate to argue any positive point about Bonneville but I'll
make an exception. As much as we all loved the film and the exposure it
gained for the salt, "The World's Fastest Indian" was a certified box-office
disaster due mainly to incredibly limited distribution. Unfortunately, the
lack
of publicity, (even after Sir Anthony sat on every talk-show couch in the
mainstream media), made for many empty seats and a resulting short run at
virtually every theater in which it was booked. That point made, there was
major
morass which ensured any benefit from the film would go unrealized. As most of
us were painfully aware, the fine folks at the Rainbow Casino scheduled a
huge poker tournament for August 11th though the 15th and then opened up the
hotel reservations a full two months before the hotels normally accept Speed
Week bookings. Remember that, as of July of 2004, Rainbow-Peppermill-Montego
Bay
Resorts controls eighty percent of the rooms in Wendover. As many folks
found out, there were positively, absolutely NO ROOMS AVAILABLE in Wendover
after
January 1st, 2006. Therefore, anybody who saw the film, decided to go and
attempted to find lodging were totally out of luck. Despite the sound of
negativity, this tirade is actually based on the magnificently positive aspects
of
Speed Week 2006 and underscores Fastmetal's original point. The very fact
that the spectator count easily apporached 3,000 when no appreciable benefit
could be gained from the film speaks volumes of the popularity of the salt.
While I'll be the first to recognize the exceptional efforts of Dave Freiburger
to keep alive the history of Hot Rod Magazine's involvement, (and the fact
that we've all watched him from his rookie runs to membership in the Two
Club),
I'd venture the prospect that the non-automotive mainstream coverage has
been the deciding factor in Speed Week's jump in both attendance and
participation since the late 1980s. ( ...... Continued in part 2 )
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