ROCKVILLE, Utah — Most of Utah’s rural interstate system has a posted speed limit of 80 miles per hour. However, there’s one stretch of road in Utah that has no speed limit whatsoever. That would be a 5-mile stretch on the Bonneville Salt Flats
Nearly every current world land speed record has been established on the Bonneville Salt Flats, including a new one set in mid-August by a bullet-shaped car built by Rick Vesco of Rockville.
The Turbinator II recorded the fastest run for a wheel-driven car in the history of Speed Week, dating back to 1949. The car set records for the fastest timed mile (460.038 mph), the fastest record (455.106) and the fastest exit speed of 470.605 mph.
Vesco originally designed and built the car in 1988 in his garage in Brigham City before moving to Rockville in 2002. He upgraded many parts of the car once he relocated to Southern Utah. Vesco does all of the mechanical work with help from sponsors for various components.
The car now sits in pieces in Vesco’s shop in Rockville where it is being prepared for another assault on the speed record during the World of Speed Sept. 14-17.
