For Immediate Release: September 5, 2000

Records Tumble At 52nd Annual Bonneville Speed Weeks

DETROIT - The land speed racers returned to western Utah for the 52nd running of the Bonneville Speed Weeks on August 12-18. The competitors that made the annual pilgrimage in search of high-performance excellence were treated to an outstanding combination of weather and racecourse conditions at this desert oasis of salt and sun. 

One of the most talked about cars at the flats this year was Mike Cook's 2000 Pontiac Bonneville. Competing in the E/Supercharged Production class, Cook's Pontiac is in essence, a stock Bonneville with only minor changes made to meet the strict safety requirements mandated by the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA). 

"Our 2000 Pontiac Bonneville is a factory vehicle with no major modifications and everyone just loved it," said Cook. "This car has the original V6 in it, it has the front-wheel drive and it has the stock transmission configuration. The only difference is that we made some adjustments to the exhaust, and the motor and hung a roll cage in it. It also comes with the SSEi supercharger." 

A salt racer for almost 30 years, Cook is a former president of Bonneville Nationals Inc. and the SCTA, and is now the chairman of the board of BNI. He holds numerous land-speed records and became a member of the prestigious Bonneville 200 MPH Club in 1981. Cook's goal this year was to push his production Bonneville up and over the 200 mph barrier, and for a brief moment, the 48-year-old Californian did just that. 

"Even though we only made three attempts, the car started talking back to me a little bit on the third run," Cook said. "As I gave it more throttle, I could feel it get a little crazy, so I eased off of the steering wheel to give it some freedom and the car seemed to settle down some. We were starting to get the magic a little bit. 

"At about three miles the computer shut down, but until then the car was accelerating very, very well and handling just fine. Up until that happened the front-wheel speed as indicated on the computer showed that the car ran over 200 mph. Our main goal was to run over 200 mph, and our ultimate goal was to run over the 209 mph record. We're going back in October and I'm almost certain we'll do that. After spending a week at the salt flats I have an enormous amount of confidence in this 2000 Pontiac Bonneville." 

Cook's best official speed of the week was 195.048 mph with an exit speed of 195.585 mph recorded during mile three of his final attempt on the course. The numbers are even more impressive considering the narrow time frame in which he had to prepare his production Bonneville. 

"The 2000 Bonneville was brought to us about six months ago by GM Specialty Vehicles" Cook said. "After we got our brand new Pontiac, we did the roll cage and kept all the stock interior in it - the CD player, the air conditioning, everything is still in the car. We also painted the roll cage to match the car, made special seats and had them covered the same as the rest of the interior. Deist Safety equipment was applied throughout the vehicle including the fire and
seat-belt system. We had a special set of "moon" wheels made for the car and Goodyear built us a set of tires just to run with the 16-inch rim. Basically the whole project was put together during a six-month period. 

"Even though we didn't officially reach our 200 mph goal, we're very happy and very confident that in October we will. Needless to say we were excited. But most importantly, the response to the car has just been tremendous." 

If the basic fundamental purpose of racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats is to rewrite the record book, then John Rains and his partner Jeff Carroll reserved a few chapters for their 1989 Pontiac Trans Am by raising the bar in three different categories. The Rains team established new marks in E/Production Supercharged, E/Blown Gas Altered and E/Blown Fuel Altered. 

The 57-year-old Rains hails from Oxnard, Calif., and is the owner of Helipower, a nameplate visible on the side of his racecar. The company specializes in the overhaul of helicopter turbine engines. 

Rains drove his '89 Trans Am to a new record speed of 256.789 mph in the E/Production Supercharged category and 254.886 mph in the E/Blown Fuel Altered category. Jeff Carroll took the wheel of the Helipower Pontiac and established a new record in the E/Blown Gas Altered category at 275.161 mph. 

"We used the same car on all three record runs," Rains said. "We just made some adjustments to our '89 Trans Am that enabled us to compete in each category. The changes were very minor but the opportunity was there so we wanted to go after it.

"We had an outstanding week that's for sure. Three records in four days isn't too bad. I've always gone to the salt flats with Pontiacs. I started racing here 10 years ago competing with a Fiero in the G/Grand Touring class from 1990 to '91. We didn't break the record with that car, but we still have it, and someday we'll take it back out and give it another shot." 

At last year's Bonneville Speed Weeks, the Kugel & LeFevers 1992 Pontiac Firebird, driven by Joe Kugel, made history in the C/Blown Gas Altered category when it became the first stock-bodied production car to exceed the 300 mph barrier with a two-day combined average of 300.788 mph. 

This time out, it was younger brother Jeff Kugel who successfully set a new speed record in B/Blown Gas Altered at 293.814 mph. Team partner Mike LeFevers climbed into the car for the first time during Bonneville competition and joined in on the fun. LeFevers set a new speed record in B/Blown Gas Coupe at 260.139 mph and joined the Bonneville 200 MPH Club. 

"This year we basically came up to the salt flats with the same 1992 Pontiac Firebird we used last year to break 300 mph," explained Jeff Kugel. "We put a new crank in the engine, basically a stroke crank, and that made it large enough to make it a Class B engine which is anywhere from 372 to 440 cubic inches. Our engine was 385 cubic inches. The reason we did that was because we didn't want to run against our own records in the C class. 

"In the gas coupe class, we got Mike LeFevers, our partner to take a shot. He had never driven the racecar although he's been going to Bonneville forever and he wanted to try and get into the 200 mph club, which he did. He set a record at 260 mph, which is not bad for someone who had never driven before. After Mike did that, we made a couple of changes to the car and reentered it as an altered. I drove it and set the record at 293 mph with an exit speed of 306 mph.
The average, which is the number the record is set at was 293 mph, but the fastest the car ran was 306 mph." 

After posting new records on August 15-16, the Kugel & LeFevers team called it a week and headed for home. 

"Mike's goal was to join the 200 mph club, and my goal was to run 300 mph which we both accomplished," Kugel said. "Then my dad (Jerry) felt like getting back in the car and he ran 303 mph. So everyone in the family, Joe, my dad and myself, have been over 300 mph, although Joe stayed out of the car this year. 

Mike had to make licensing runs in increments at 150 mph, then 175 mph, then 200 mph, and so on until he was qualified to go faster. If we would've had time he could've run 300 mph also. 

"We actually went home a day early. A 300-mph record would have been nice, and I think it would've been doable if we had continued. But that wasn't our goal, so there was no reason to do it again. Taking the chance of hurting the car and possibly the engine wasn't a gamble we wanted to take. 

Now we'll probably take the rest of the year off from running because we accomplished what we set out to do. But in 2001 our goal is to build a 300-inch motor and go 300 mph with a Class D engine."

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