High Performance Racing Comes To The High Desert

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High Performance Racing Comes To The High Desert.

Utah is no stranger to high-performance sporting events.  For decades, it has been the site of hundreds of world-class ski races, culminating in the Olympic Winter Games in 2002.  In the world of professional sports, the American Basketball Association's Utah Stars, with Adrian Dantley and Zelmo Beatty morphed into the Utah Jazz, producing legends like Karl Malone and John Stockton.  Today, the perennial play-off contender Jazz continues to draw sold out crowds. The ear-shattering crowds are considered among the loudest in the NBA.

Jazz owner and car dealer Larry Miller must have an affinity for high volume, because it was his idea (and money) that created Miller Motorsports Park, a world-class racetrack about 40 minutes west of Salt Lake City, (and perhaps not coincidentally, in the same county that is home to the world famous Bonneville Salt Flats, where world land speed records have been set).  Now in its third year, the state-of-the-art facility has attracted international acclaim as one of the world's finest racing circuits, and many of the world's top racing series have made Utah a regular stop on their itineraries.

Rural countryside that used to hear nothing but desert winds and an occasional "moo" from resident cows, is now  witness to 500 plus horsepower engines screaming at 10,000 rpms.  (Which, depending upon your point of view, may or may not be music to your ears.)

This is no circular stretch of asphalt.  The track at Miller Motorsports Park is a 4.5-mile, 40-50 foot wide, 24-turn circuit, the longest in North America. It has four different configurations, ranging from two different 2.2-mile circuits (East and West Courses) to the 3.08-mile Perimeter Course and the 4.5-mile Full Course. The 3500-foot main straightaway allows the fastest cars and motorcycles to approach 200 mph before braking for Turn 1. The 511-acre facility also boasts a 0.9-mile paved karting circuit, one of the finest in the country, with 20 different configurations available.

May is what's being called "Speed Month" at Miller Motorsports Park, with the American Le

Mans Series (AMLS) "Utah Grand Prix" May 16-18, and two weeks later, the HANNspree Superbike World Championship (SBK).

The American Le Mans Series features the most sophisticated sports cars on the planet that embrace "green" technology.  Every car in the series runs on some kind of alternative fuel.  The front running Audi R10 TDIs run 5.5 liter twin turbo diesel engines that make no smoke, no noise and propel the cars to 200 miles per hour. The thundering factory Corvettes are running on E85 cellulosic ethanol (85 percent ethanol/15 percent gasoline).  Cellulose ethanol is derived not from grain but switch grass, lawn clippings and almost any other organic refuse.  Other cars in the series, including Porsches, Ferraris, Acuras, and Aston Martins, utilize E10 ethanol (10 percent ethanol, 90 percent gasoline).

The HANNspree Superbike World Championship, May 29-June 1 is the third biggest racing series in the world.  It features modified production based motorcycles from all the world's major manufacturers, including Ducati, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki, and some the world's most renowned riders.

The SBK races will be televised live on 95 television networks to 173 countries and an estimated audience of 120 million.  To put this in perspective, NASCAR's biggest race, the Daytona 500 has averaged between 17-19 million over the past three years.

If you have any interest in racing, this could be a new destination for you.  It's a mere 35 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport, so if you happen to be flying in for a vacation, business or whatever...it's worth the drive.  For more information, and to check out the full racing schedule, visit http://www.millermotorsportspark.com/.

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