Bonneville Speed Week ’25

August 2025 • By Nestor Cabrera and Tony Thacker
Presented by MicksPaint.com and USAutomotive.co.uk

I made my first pilgrimage to Bonneville Speed Week 50 years ago in 1975 and somehow I never tire of that vast expanse of whiteness where Mother Nature often exercises many of her tricks from stunning sunrises to suddenly violent wind storms. This year, however, she smiled on us and we had mostly clear skies, bearable temperatures and hard salt. That said, the salt is eggshell thin, as thin as I have ever seen it in 50 years.

Danny Thompson set top speed of the meet and took home the Hot Rod Magazine trophy with a blistering run of 421.943mph in the Ferguson Racing’ liner.

According to a statement by Save The Salt Foundation in the Speed Week program, “No salt brine was pumped onto the Bonneville Salt Flats over the past two winter pumping seasons (2034/24 and 2024/25) because the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was concerned about reduced water levels for the pumping programs water source. The BLM has authorized the pumping program to resume this winter.”

Thin or not so thin, the TorqTalk team tagged along to observe our friend Brit Geoff Stilwell with his 7707 Red Line Oil Racing blown fuel rear-engine modified roadster as he continued his search for the elusive red hat.

In 2024, Geoff had upped his 2018 record to a credible 277.569 but out of left field came our friend Texas Hot Rod Hoodlum Jim Jard with his Pro-Charged LS-powered tin can that unexpectedly bumped the record to 281.425 running on gas (petrol). We were close, but time to go after Jim’s record evaporated. Geoff would have to wait until 2025.

Jim was back in 2025 and so was Geoff with a 496ci Brad Anderson Hemi refreshed by Scott Campbell and running on 70-percent nitro. The car was basically the same as that run in 2024 except for a switch to Red Line Oil. The 7707 crew towed to the line on Saturday, the first day of racing, and there, in front of us, darn it, was Corey Severa in the Hoodlum who set a stout pace with a 280mph run. Sadly, a small electrical fire sidelined them for the rest of the event.

The following day, Geoff nailed it and qualified for the A/BFRMR record with a speed of 287.081. With the Hoodlums out of the frame, Geoff headed to impound to prepare for the next morning’s back-up when he set the record at 289.239mph. An unexpected bonus was a red hat and acceptance into the renowned Bonneville 200 MPH Club. It had been a long, arduous journey since his first record in 2018 but it had been worth it.

Geoff’s wasn’t the only success story as Danny Thompson, son of the late speed industry icon, Mickey Thompson, set the fastest speed of the meet with a blistering run at 421.943 to secure the Hot Rod Magazine trophy. His run in the Ferguson Racing streamliner was made all the more amazing when you know that the ‘A’ car is powered by a 426 cast owner Don Ferguson.

Besides the highs, there were some incredible lows: Arley Langlo’s streamliner caught fire, the Cummins-Beck-Davidson 911 Roadster went end-over-end but thankfully driver Donny Cummins was unhurt and unfortunately our friend Chris Raschke died when the 715 Speed Demon crashed.

The salt may have been thin but more than 90 records were set and the weather held. To paraphrase Arnold, '“We’ll be back.”

For more info about land speed racing visit www.SCTA-BNI.org