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Hi All
Bonneville is the last refuge of America�s true speed freaks, but, conditions permitting, it�s only available for at most a few weeks late each summer. Californians going for top end can also run at the famed El Mirage dry lake about eight times a year at SCTA-sanctioned meets. For Easterners, though, there�s lesser-known Maxton and East Coast Timing Association. More properly Maxton-Laurinburg Airport, just west of Lumberton, NC., Maxton is most of all, a trip back in time. The concrete runways were built in �43 to train Army glider pilots for D-Day, but now it�s mostly where old passenger jets go to die and the Golden Knights parachute team often practices. But six times a year - the final weekends of April through June, September, October (the break being for Bonneville runners) -- it�s where speed-possessed folks see what their cars, trucks and motorcycles will do. Runway length limits runs to a mile of acceleration before the timing traps, grass grows between the concrete slabs, the surface is showing its age and there�s a slight dogleg after the start. But, safety is paramount and the boys and girls running there go like crazy. And, as one might expect, given the premium on fast acceleration, versus the miles available to build-up speed on The Salt and at El Mirage, at Maxton the bikes hold sway. The June meet is traditionally a warmup for Bonneville (Maxton tech inspections are accepted by the Bonneville crew). Despite heavy rains forecast (and delivered), this June�s meet drew entries from Canada to Florida and as far west as Iowa. Enjoy...... A.B.!!!
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