Boys of Bonneville: Racing on a Ribbon of Salt

Posted by Fabio 4 May 2011

Boys of Bonneville: Racing on a Ribbon of Salt is about an America that has all but disappeared, when lucrative business deals were cemented by a handshake and state of the art automobiles were designed on the backs of envelopes. It tells the story of an unsung hero and self-made man, David Abbott Jenkins, who, with almost superhuman stamina and boyish charm, set out to single-handedly break every existing land speed record on his beloved Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah. Seventy years later, many of “Ab’s” records remain unbroken and the legacy lives on in his custom car. Looking like something Batman would have owned, the story comes full circle when Ab’s son Marv, restores the 12-cyclinder, 4800-pound “Mormon Meteor” to its glory days for a ceremonial lap on the salt. The film features pristine archival footage of Ab, Marv, and their races, as well as recently shot HD interviews with a stellar list of car and racing aficionados including Jay Leno and Col. Andy Green, the current land speed holder. The car resides in Salt Lake City’s Price Museum of Speed and will be visiting select cities as part of its Film Festival tour. Directed by John Greene.

www.pricemuseumofspeed.org