Jun 11, 2007 - El Mirage, California, United States - El Mirage dry lake bed has been home to Land Speed Racing (LSR) for more than half a century. Hot rods and motorcycles that were competing for new land speed records with speeds reaching up to 180 mph. More than 50 years ago, Southern California
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Jun 11, 2007 - El Mirage, California, United States - El Mirage dry lake bed has been home to Land Speed Racing (LSR) for more than half a century. Hot rods and motorcycles that were competing for new land speed records with speeds reaching up to 180 mph. More than 50 years ago, Southern California hot rod enthusiasts discovered that the flat, smooth, dry lakebed was perfect for land-speed record attempts. In the beginning there were only informal rules and regulations, little valid enforcement, and some very enthusiastic racers with a mind to go as fast as their equipment would allow. Innovation, mechanical ingenuity, and brute horsepower were applied to the cars and motorcycles of the day to elicit the most speed possible out of a given vehicle. Hence the birth of the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA). Land speed racing continues to be strictly an all-volunteer sport. No volunteers would mean, no racing. The El Mirage course is relatively short compared to Bonneville. At El Mirage the length of the course from the starting line to the lights is 1.33 miles. Pictured: Hotrod with flames. (Credit Image: © Ruaridh Stewart/ZUMA Press)
