HISTORY OF MINIMUMS
This is the history of minimums as far as I can remember. In 1978 the Southern California Timing Association began creating new classes for its rulebook. The newly created classes were accompanied with minimums for both Bonneville and El Mirage. The 200MPH Club in turn honored those minimums set for Bonneville by the S.C.T.A.
For example, in 1991 the S.C.T.A. decided to separate the super charged engines from the naturally aspirated engines and new gas classes where implemented for the classes that had only fuel classes at the time. The S.C.T.A. attached minimums to these new classes for both Bonneville and El Mirage. These new class minimums were treated like a record by the Bonneville 200 MPH Club and needed to be broken in order to gain entrance. In 1994 the S.C.T.A., for whatever reasons, decided to drop the minimums it had established for Bonneville but they kept the minimums for El Mirage. I can only assume that the reason S.C.T.A. kept the minimums for the lakebed was that it did not want some one to cherry pick the point system. When the S.C.T.A. dropped the minimums in 1994 the 2 Club board had to decide whether or not to keep minimums. The board decided that in order to maintain the integrity of the club it would establish minimums for all the current and future open classes created by the S.C.T.A.
To the best of my knowledge this was the 2 club board in 1994 that made the decision to keep and establish minimums for new car and motorcycle classes. President: Gordon Hoyt (past S.C.T.A. & 200 MPH Club President, entered the club in 1979). Vice President: Monte Wolfe (past S.C.T.A. & 200 MPH Club President, entered the club in 1972). Board Members: Don Vesco (entered the club 1963) Fred Larsen (entered the club in 1959); Don Cummins (entered the club in 1969); Bob Kehoe (entered the club in1970); Roy Fjastad (past 200 MPH Club President, & current Board Member, entered the club in 1989); Larry Volk (past U.S.F.R.A. President, current Save The Salt Chairman and current 200 MPH Club President, entered the club in1975).
As you can see, these are some of the most respected names in Land Speed Racing. The boards’ goal in keeping the minimums was to protect the integrity of existing 200 MPH Club members that had sacrificed and worked hard to gain entrance into the 2 Club on a record or minimum that was established. The intent was not trying to undermine the hard work of the people who have tried hard to gain membership into the club. I know because my son and I tried really hard to get him in the club for 18 years. During that time, he easily went over200 MPH over 50 times (you see, 200 MPH, although impressive, was not a huge feat for our car). It was not until he made a two-way average of 231.045–which was the first time an A/GR had ever gone that fast–that made it an accomplishment worthy of entrance into the Bonneville 200 MPH Club. The Bonneville 200 MPH Club minimums and records are achievable, but not easy…which is what makes membership into the club a prestigious and honorable event and not a handout.