Photo courtesy of Bonner Denton

Denton's highly modified 1959 Berkeley, equipped with a twin turbo-charged, fuel-injected engine, sits on the salt flats in Bonneville, Utah. Bonneville is known to racers as "the Mecca of racing."

Tuesday August 28, 2001 |

World sports car record set at speed of 264 mph

As dangerous at it may seem, Bonner Denton says traveling at speeds of over 200 mph doesn't even make him break a sweat.

That's because Denton, a University of Arizona geosciences and chemistry professor, races sports cars in his spare time. In fact, Denton, along with a team of colleagues, recently set the world speed record for sports cars - traveling at a speed of 264 mph.

"I just like to go fast," he said.

Denton was the principle designer and builder of the car that went the record speed on the Bonneville, Utah salt flats, thought of as "the Mecca of racing," Denton said.

Setting the speed record is just the icing on the cake for Denton, who has been interested in cars since childhood and has been building and racing sports cars since high school.

"The car is a big part of his life," said chemistry graduate student David Jones. "He is well known for it."

In order to set a record at Bonneville, a 5-mile straight course through the salt flats, a car must beat the existing record for its category to qualify for a return run, which takes place the next day. The two trips are averaged, and the final speed is determined. Therefore, cars never race against one another for a record, but against 52 years worth of Bonneville records.

Denton's team had a new idea for the vehicle this year, which involved building on a front-wheel drive car instead of the usual rear-wheel drive. He said he suspected that the front-wheel drive would perform better on the slightly moist salt, which has been deteriorating over the past several years of racing.

His gamble paid off, and as other competitors "didn't understand what (they) were trying to do," Denton says, his team raced by to a victory.

Photo courtesy of Bonner Denton

Bonner Denton, a UA geosciences and chemistry professor, gets strapped into his turbo-charged sports car before a race at the Bonneville, Utah salt flats. Denton recently set the world record for sports car racing at 264 mph.

Denton funds the trips to Bonneville personally, with help from Garrett AiResearch, a local company that donated the turbochargers needed for the engine. Gas alone costs $10 a gallon.

After buying the sports car that will eventually be ready to race, Denton and his team spend months fixing up the car and adding the necessary modifications. When it comes to driving the car, however, Denton says he is "the only one crazy enough to do that."

However, speeding down the course at over 200 mph doesn't make him nervous, he said. While sitting in the car waiting for his run to start, the sun can be excruciatingly hot - especially in a half-inch thick, fire-safe driving suit. At these times, Denton thinks about all the things that need to be done in order to make the run a success, like not "burning rubber" or blowing a tire and most importantly, "not letting down the pit crew because they are depending on (me)," he said.

Denton said he also thinks about exactly what he needs to do in order to prevent his vehicle from losing control, or spinning out, which would make setting a record impossible.

The salt flats are a fairly safe course for speed cars because if a car loses control, there is nothing to crash into. The vehicle would just spin until losing momentum and stopping. The usual way to stop, however, would be to deploy the parachute attached to the rear of the car, which allows for a safe, slow stop in the forward direction.

In addition to his racing know-how, Denton holds a special driver's license that allows him to go up to 300 mph on the racetrack. The next step up is known as an "unlimited license" which allows the holder to go as fast as is possible. Denton saves the speed for the racetrack, however, and says he hasn't received a speeding ticket in over 20 years.

In setting the world speed record for sports cars, Denton also had to set the record for his specific class of vehicle - the small-motor, turbocharged, modified sports category. The many other categories that race on the salt flats include motorcycles, pickup trucks, roadsters and electric vehicles.

The salt flats are an integral part of racing history, yet the unique racecourse may not be around forever. Years of repeated use have decreased the surface quality, making it difficult to race. Denton is a member of the technical committee for the "Save the Salt" program, which is responsible for bringing 10 billion pounds of salt to the racecourse from evaporation ponds.

In addition to his achievements as a speed car driver, Denton enjoys much success in his home field of chemistry, where he has lead award-winning research in spectroscopy. Working with students, however, "is what makes being a UA professor a rewarding job" for Denton, who above all likes "to see students be successful."