Speed Week came and went last month to the Bonneville Salt Flats, the time when racing enthusiasts go out to a flat spot east of Wendover and try to see how fast they can get their engines racing.

Cory Farley, columnist for Auto Week magazine, recalls here the early days "back when Wendover, on the Utah line, offered a gas station, a drive-in and a couple of horror-movie motels." He also recounts, quite hilariously, bringing a British automotive journalist out for the event, and camping out among the rattlesnakes and the "quite alarmingly spacious" scenery.

If you're interested in seeing cars racing on the Salt Flats, the World of Speed (organized by the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association) is set for Sept. 17-20. Just head west on I-80 until you're almost to Wendover. (If you see the Nevada state line and a lot of casinos, you've gone too far.)