Bonneville Speedweek 2019

The hot young stripper wife and I will be on the Salt August 9 thru 11. Speedweek LSR runs will be August 10 thru 16.

If you book right now through Booking.com you can get a room for $95 a night at the Red Garter. That price is unheard of for Speedweek when rooms usually go for $300 a night with a three night minimum so book now.

Come out for the day, for a night, or for the entire weekend. We always have a great time.

And the guy in the picture with my young daughters is Andy Green, who is the world land speed record holder at 763 MPH.
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Hmmmm...sounds like a great way to make a few extra bucks. Buy 10 rooms, flip them for a few grand. :haha:

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It seems fitting that the Utah-built Turbinator is scheduled to make the first run on the Bonneville Salt Flats on Saturday when the 71st annual Speed Week opens.

That’s because the vehicle, designed by Rick Vesco in his Rockville garage near Zion National Park, had quite a 2018 season on the salt.

It culminated with a top speed of 503.332 miles per hour last October in the World of Speed event. The Turbinator had the fastest top speed of 470.605 miles per hour last year and set the fastest national Bonneville car record and the fastest wheel-driven flying mile.

Jinx Vesco, spokesperson for the Vesco team, said that the sponsoring Southern California Timing Association wanted the Turbinator to be first in line Saturday when racing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

“If we qualify, we will spend Saturday in impound and run again Sunday,” she said of thevehicle driven by Californian Dave Spangler.

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https://www.sltrib.com/sports/2019/0...lt-turbinator/

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Speedweek 2019 has been pushed back one day because of last night's rain and land speed runs will begin on Sunday. The hot young trophy wife and I are just packing up to leave. We'll be on The Salt Friday to Monday. Here are a couple pictures from last year....

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So we drove the Daytona out. We are on The Salt, but I'm betting no LSR will be run until Monday as there is still a lot of water from last night's rain.

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Speedweek 2019 audio. If you listen during the day this is the live event broadcast.

https://www.meridix.com/event/154607

Pretty sexy Daytona, Ice. I thought for sure you'd have the car accompanied with bikini models... :ne_nau:



Doesn't the salt corrode the hell outta whatever vintage vehicle you roll out there?

The Salt is terrible for corrosion and the first thing I do with any car I drive off the salt is head to the nearest car wash.

I've always felt cars are made to be driven and not trophies to be collected and displayed in the garage, so I drive my cars :-)

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The rain storm last week destroyed the salt for Speedweek. There is only 6 miles of useable racetrack and that is shitty. Speed Demon swapped out their big motor for their E class motor (287ci) and just ran 332mph, which is fast time of the meet so far.

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How often do you hear or see drones out there getting some shots?

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Originally Posted by Sombeech

How often do you hear or see drones out there getting some shots?

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I have never seen a drone at Speedweek.

8/15/19 Speedweek calls it quits due to deteriorating track conditions.

The fastest of the meet is Speed Demon at 369 mph. That's a long ways from the 400 and 500 mph runs we saw last year.

The SCTA & BNI has done everything humanly possible to provide the best racing surface. Weather conditions have hampered course preparation to the point that the 3 race course can’t be improved at this time. Hopefully there will be better salt in October for World Finals.

Hope to see you all there.

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Speed Demon leaves Speedweek with the Hot Rod Trophy with goes to the fastest time of the event at 369 mph.


https://www.hotrod.com/articles/geor...le-speed-week/

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For those who have asked me about the car that crashed today at World of Speed. The car was the #496 Carbinite and was traveling over 350 mph when the crash occured. Rob Freyvogel is the driver and he is in ICU at the University of Utah.

CT scan was “relatively” good, no major bleeding or swelling. Rob is very sleepy but responds to touch and pain but not auditory commands. Some facial fractures are the only broken bones, but they are currently a minor concern. I'm told Rob is in pretty good physical condition, which is amazing.

The car all but disintegrated from the impact yet the cockpit is almost undamaged. Rob was 100% contained in that cockpit.

This has always been one of my favorite cars because it is so unique.

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How’s he doing now?

***Update from his wife Sue***

I would first like to thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes. And very special thanks to the safety team, first responders, and the whole team at the hospital.

We all know the dangerous nature of this sport. Rob has always been obsessed with going fast. He has a brilliant mind and persevering nature. While the project never had my full blessing because of the risk of something like this happening, I could not force him to give up his dream either. The team did get it right when designing the car for safety. He would not be alive if the car didn’t do exactly what it was designed to do.

Right now, we are in a holding pattern of waiting. He does have a serious head injury. He is sedated, in ICU, with lots of tubes and monitors and frequent testing. He is on a breathing machine. He does respond to pain and his pupils are reacting. Some positives but he is definitely not out of the woods yet. We have a lot of questions that will take time to answer. God is sovereign and has this under control. More than anything, Rob desired to glorify God in his life. I don’t know why this happened this way, or what the outcome will be. Please continue to pray and we will update when possible.

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***Update from Rob's wife***

I am absolutely overwhelmed by the outpouring of support in this time of greatest need. I’m not much of a social media person, but the power of this platform is obvious in the number of comments, likes, and messages that we are seeing. People around the world praying, sending well wishes, and sharing memories of Rob. Words cannot express my deepest gratitude for each and every one of you.

This is a picture of Rob when we were at Bird Kingdom in Ontario. It was a trip that he planned, and he did a good job of choosing activities that I would like. He wasn’t always good at that, but he tried and I love him for it.

There is not much to update medically. He has moved from the surgical intensive care to the neuro intensive care unit. The SICU care was superb, and so is the care he is receiving here. This unit deals with head and brain trauma specifically. He is stable, still on a ventilator, and is responding to pain. He now has a feeding tube and his brain is being monitored with an EEG. His care is being optimized to allow healing of his brain. We've heard that this is a marathon, not a sprint many times now! He needs time.

There is video of the crash out there. It must be horrific. While it is good for safety experts to analyze the video so no other families have to go through this, it is not good for anyone in Rob’s family to see what happened to him. I appreciate that it has not been posted online, thank you.

This morning, I woke early in a very fearful state. So many decisions to make, so much waiting, being separated from family and home and pets and work. God spoke to me and said that I cannot live in the realm of “what if” – that is irrelevant to this situation. I have to live in “what is” and trust Him for “what will be”. He already has this figured out.

Our Carbinite Metal Coatings family is just outstanding. Andy and I are out here in SLC with zero concern for our company. It is in such good hands.

With sincerest gratitude,
Sue, our family, and all of the folks at Carbinite and Carbinite LSR.

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***Update from Rob's wife***
Rob and I were big X-files fans back in the late 90’s. “Trust No One” has been my mantra, trust is very difficult for me. So being asked to trust a lot of people I don’t know with my husband’s life is terrifying. I woke early again, feeling very fearful. This made me realize that my journey to trust (people and God) instead of fear is going to be a marathon, just like Rob’s journey to recovery will be a marathon.

We have more support here from PA. Rob’s mom and sister arrived safely earlier today.

This is day 4 after Rob’s accident. The brain swelling is peaking. He still has reflexive movements in his arms and legs, is responding to pain, and his pupils react. But it would not be unusual for him to backslide a little neurologically. He is being closely monitored.

A small victory yesterday! His ventilator settings were changed to allow him to initiate breathing on his own. He tolerated this for almost two hours. Weaning from the vent can take time.

His cranial pressure has been good. His vital signs are stable. He had a CT scan today, but the results are not in yet. He is still not responding to verbal commands.

He will have a big day tomorrow. Assuming this can all be scheduled, he will go to the OR for a tracheostomy. He cannot keep the breathing tube in indefinitely, so it’s better to do this now rather than later. He will also get a more permanent feeding tube. They want to remove the O2 sensor and take him for an MRI.

Rob’s family, the Carbinite crew, and the LSR crew all appreciate your support and well wishes. We’ve been reading every comment and have been so encouraged. Thank you, we love all of you. Stepping out in faith and trust to run this marathon! Enjoy this morning view from our host's deck.

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Most of the folks that have been following here on the Carbinite LSR page “get” the whole racing and speed obsession. You are either racers or close friends and family that have known Rob all his life. Many people do not get it. They are asking “why would anyone ever want to do such an absurd thing like driving over 400mph”. My response is - why would anyone want 25 cats - or why would anyone want to climb a mountain. We could ask that same “why” of many things people love. This is how God created Rob. We each have a unique passion that we pursue. Some passions are more dangerous than others. It’s a hard thing to balance - the risk of one’s passion and the responsibilities in one’s life. It is sometimes hard to understand other people’s passions and that is OK too.

Tuesday morning update:

Rob remains unconscious. He did well thru the night. He is getting an EEG this morning to make sure he is not having seizures. Tolerating his tube feedings. Physical therapy is working with him. I feel like I’m giving nursing report. Ha ha!

On to our great news! Once it is safe (near future, no definite timeline) we will transfer him back home to Pittsburgh on a medical flight. I can’t go into detail but God is orchestrating plans for him to receive excellent care back home.

I cannot thank all of you enough for everything you have done for us. From meals to housing to loaning cars to donating money or meals. And most importantly, for praying. God is working here, I can see and feel it. I wish I could respond to every one of your comments. We do read every single one. Those are such a blessing.

Rejoicing together!
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***From the Carbinite team

The USFRA held their awards banquet on Saturday where Sue Freyvogel and a few of the Carbinite team attended. Definitely bittersweet to record the fastest time of the meet on the run in which Rob crashed. Average time of 392 mph over the 4th mile and still accelerating quickly heading into the final mile.

Rob Freyvogel had surgery last week to place a permanent drain in his brain, and after a couple days back in the ICU to keep a close watch on him, he is back in a regular room. He continues to progress slowly as doctors are expecting, with a little more consistent response in blinking and moving his hands and feet, but nothing really new to share. We appreciate the love and care given by the racing community, and all the friends and family that have pitched in with notes, gifts and help in a variety of ways. Thank you! We will let you know when we have new info to share. Andy

***From Carbinite Team

Quick update! Rob’s trach was removed on Sunday and the site is healing nicely. The blood thinner is now regulated. So we were given the go ahead for transfer. God is good!

With a storm approaching, and since the medical flight team was close to Salt Lake, we flew this morning in this private jet. For a number of reasons, I decided that our home would be the best place to start the next phase of our journey. Friends and family worked for over a week to prepare the rooms, and they did a fantastic job. We arrived at our house in PA around 5:30pm. The ground ambulance transportation in Utah and PA were fantastic, and the flight team was superb. All went very smoothly.

For those of you that are local, we are anxious to see you. But need some time to readjust after 66 days in Utah. Please, no unscheduled visitation. When we are ready, we will post a visitation sign-up so Rob is not overwhelmed.

Many thanks and blessings to our friends and family around the world, many who may never see this since they are not on Facebook. We appreciate all of you so much!

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Update from Carbinite LSR.....

We want to thank all of you for not pestering us with questions about what happened and respecting our time to deal with the important matters since the accident. It has definitely been a roller coaster since the crash in September, but we are finally ready to share a few details. There was one video, from a phone at a distance, that has given us the most insight. Just before Rob loses control, he passed between 2 quarter mile flags in 2 seconds, so his speed was probably approaching 450 mph. The severity of the crash did not allow us to retrieve any data or video from the car itself. It seems that the cause of the accident was a left rear blown tire. After the tire blew, the car pulled to the left. Once the car was sideways the air lifted the car, coming down nose first and then tumbling. The majority of the car disintegrated and left debris over a mile. The cage however, was completely intact and hardly even bent, preserving Rob’s life. His body barely had a scratch, but if you have been following the posts you understand the seriousness of the brain injury caused from the force associated with crashing at that speed. Goodyear thoroughly investigated and determined the tire did not blow due to centrifugal failure, side load failure or overheating. What is left of the wheel wells does not show signs of over expansion when comparing the 2 sides. There is not enough of the cap left to determine exactly what caused the tire to blow, but most likely we hit some type of debris on the salt. We say that not to blame anyone, as we understood the risks involved, but want to help make racing on the salt as safe as possible in the future. The USFRA, first responders and the entire racing community were amazing immediately following the crash and have continued to show incredible support to Rob, Sue and our team. Rob continues his rehab, and while very frustrated at times, he continues to make progress as he learns how to talk, walk and do all the things he remembers and desires to do again. He does not remember the crash, but the rest of his memory is pretty much fully restored. He is still in a full time brain injury rehab program in Pittsburgh, working on speech, physical and occupational therapy.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...c2be4f04a8.jpg

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Originally Posted by Iceaxe

Speed Demon leaves Speedweek with the Hot Rod Trophy with goes to the fastest time of the event at 369 mph.


https://www.hotrod.com/articles/geor...le-speed-week/

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Speed Demon will unleash the nuclear option on the salt in 2020...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enth...2GJ6y?ocid=sf2