Join us as Wayne Yurtin, the rising star of Bonneville's land speed racing scene, takes us on a thrilling journey fueled by his lifelong passion for speed and mechanics. From his BMX beginnings to mastering the racetrack with Formula Fords and Formula Mazdas, Wayne's story is one of relentless pursuit and love for racing. His early fascination with speed legends like the Blue Flame and Gary Gablich sowed the seeds for his ambitious feats at Bonneville. Hear how his transition from a successful software career to restoring classic cars, including the iconic 1963 split-window Corvette, led him to the National Corvette Restorer Society and eventually to the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Listeners will be captivated by Wayne's quest to break the 235 MPH barrier at both Bonneville and El Mirage, facing the unique challenges that come with land speed racing. Discover the critical role of wind tunnel testing in overcoming aerodynamic hurdles and the excitement of setting a new speed record while experiencing the camaraderie of the racing community. Wayne's journey is not just about speed; it's about the personal milestones and the sheer exhilaration of pushing the limits, promising an inspiring and spirited narrative for all speed enthusiasts.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:01):
Welcome to Landspeed Legends, a podcast talking to
the men, the women, the legendsthat make land speed racing
great.
Discover the stories of theseordinary people whose passion
for land speed racing has madethem legendary.
And now here's your host theBonneville Belle, the High Boy,
(00:23):
honey, the salt princess, alisonVolk-Dean.
Allison Volk Dean (00:30):
Kind of have to start, you know, in order to.
Wayne Yurtin (00:33):
That's like everything Exactly.
Allison Volk Dean (00:35):
And people, I think, get hung up with having
it to be perfect in order to dosomething.
It's like, oh, it's never goingto be perfect.
Getting married, having kids,whatever you know, like just do
it Exactly you got to getstarted.
Okay, so today with me I havethe legendary Wayne Yurton.
He doesn't think he's legendaryenough, to be honest, but he's
(00:55):
kind of a newbie to Bonnevilleand um, but I think it's pretty
legendary to say, hey, I want todo this thing and you get it
done.
So I think that is that kind ofthere's a lot of people that
say they want to do it and itnever happens.
So I think seeing you as a newperson coming out here is a
great interview.
I'll be a good, good interviewfor people to hear.
(01:16):
Ok, so we were talking earlierand you were saying how you kind
of started out.
Racing really was in your BMXdays.
That's right.
Younger, I don't know, were youa teenager early 20s?
Wayne Yurtin (01:29):
No, I was geez.
Allison Volk Dean (01:31):
I was probably seven years old, eight
years old, okay you startedBMXing and then you said you
liked that over other sportsbecause you liked the mechanics
of it.
Wayne Yurtin (01:39):
Yeah, so I mean, I played a lot of different
sports and I loved and I I lovedeverything from golf to
basketball and baseball.
But for some reason, you know,it was like the mechanical
aspect of BMX racing, the racingand the competitiveness.
But I love the idea of justtearing your bike all down and
you know grease and bearings andput it all back together and
yeah it just.
(01:59):
And then that always stuck withme and I probably did it until
I was I don't know, maybe 16 orso stuck with me and I probably
did it until I was, I don't know, maybe 16 or so.
Allison Volk Dean (02:08):
Yeah, okay, cool.
And then, um, that's I likethat, because that's kind of
just maybe that engineering mindof yours that is going to help
you later on when you startracing here and maybe just like
the beginning base for it all.
So and then, um, so what didyou do after that?
You got into some other typesof racing.
Wayne Yurtin (02:23):
You were saying yeah, so I, you know, probably
the next big step was my wifehad gotten me a certificate for
Bondurant driving school, youknow, when I was in my I don't
know, maybe my 30s or somethinglike that, and so went out to
Arizona, chandler, and did oneof those classes and I was like,
oh my gosh, I got to get intothis.
(02:44):
So you know, before you knew it, I took every class they'd
offered.
And then I got into racingFormula Fords, did some SCCA
racing and moved on to FormulaMazdas and and I was working at
Apple at the time and then andthen from there I ended up
starting a few softwarecompanies.
So it was, you know, it waskind of like my side hobby.
I mean, starting the companieswas my real main focus.
(03:04):
But yeah, I just I reallyenjoyed sort of the club racing.
Allison Volk Dean (03:08):
Yeah, and so what was your?
What would you say was yourfavorite type out of those ones?
Wayne Yurtin (03:13):
It was probably the Formula Mazdas.
It was super competitive andthe cars were, you know, very,
very equal.
Allison Volk Dean (03:19):
Okay, so it was more like a driver's thing.
Wayne Yurtin (03:21):
That's right.
It came down to the driver.
Allison Volk Dean (03:23):
Yeah, kind of like out here.
Well, you know it's out here,it's both.
But yeah, well, when you get inthe 2 Club it's a driver's club
, so hopefully we'll get youthere soon.
And then, so you were just, youwere racing these cars, and
then what?
You started to decide to getinto Bonneville.
So what got you interested inBonneville in the beginning?
(03:46):
Were you always interested init, or is it always in the back
of your mind?
Wayne Yurtin (03:51):
Or was it something that came up later in
life?
I think I was five or six yearsold and it was Gary Gablich,
the Blue Flame, nice.
I remember seeing that newsstory.
My dad was watching.
I'm like what is that?
Where are they at, you know?
And he's going over 600 milesan hour and I was like that is
amazing, I've got it.
You know, it was in the back ofmy mind all my life.
Allison Volk Dean (04:10):
That's so cool.
Wayne Yurtin (04:11):
So, yeah, kind of probably fast forward, you know
way.
You know, after severalcompanies and everything, and I
got really into C2 Corvettes, soI sort of retired from the
software industry and, um, and Ibought a 63 split window that
needed complete restoration.
So I got really into and justworking on this car and and I
(04:32):
decided, you know, I want thisthing to be, you know, exactly
original.
So I got involved in NCRS,which is the National Corvette
Restorer Society.
You know, and these guys aresuper anal, these master judges
go over your car, they comb overyour car.
You know every piece of it,from the bolt, you know the, the
markings on the head bolts andyou know what kind of platings
on there and you know, do allthe dates match up?
(04:53):
So and I sort of dug that, youknow I was like how I want to
make sure this car is allcorrect, oh cool.
So I restored that 63 and um,and then a guy in our club said,
um, hey, could you restore my63?
You know he liked what we didand, uh, me and my buddy had
worked on it.
So I said, yeah, we'll do yours.
And then that kind of led toanother guy in the club of the
66.
And and then it sort of endedup uh, we started a company
(05:16):
called C2 restorations, wherethat's all we do, we just
restore those C2 Corvettes,which is the second generation.
And that's when I said you know,I'd really like to do something
totally different, you know,away from NCRS, which is, you
know, let's get into land speedracing with a C2 Corvette.
Allison Volk Dean (05:34):
So, and that was you know the blue flame in
the back of my mind, GaryGabbard's coming through.
Wayne Yurtin (05:36):
I want to do that with a Corvette.
Allison Volk Dean (05:38):
Yeah, very cool.
So so that just the idea kindof starts right there Like, oh,
I'm going to, I'm going to racethis out on the salt or land
speed, actually, because you doEl Mirage as well.
Right, that's right, ok, yeah.
Wayne Yurtin (05:51):
So this is probably around 2020,.
I would say, and you know, I'mkind of a guy that does a lot of
research before I jump intosomething, and so I started
researching, you know, hey, soyou know what are the rules for
that and where do you do it?
And then I found, oh, there'sno Mirage and there's a
Bonneville Okay, two locationshere.
Um, but Bonneville was alwaysmy, you know, it was always
pulling me towards Bonneville,um, so, anyway, so I started
(06:15):
doing a little bit more researchand I ran across a gentleman
named Vance Kirshner and, uh,and he works closely with the
garage shop guys, it turns outand I saw that he was a CEO of a
software company and that wassort of my background.
And so I reached out to him justto say, hey, yeah, this is kind
of my vision, this is mybackground, this is what I want
to do.
And he said, oh, you got tocome out to Bonneville and meet
(06:35):
all of us, and I was planning togo out to Bonneville, and that
was 2022 by then.
Yeah, so I met, he met Vance, Ialso met Aaron Brown and a
bunch of the garage shop guys,and we all started talking about
this vision that I had and thenI was so excited to watch
racing that year.
And about 30 minutes after wehad all these long conversations
(06:56):
is when that storm moved andthat year there was no racing at
all.
Allison Volk Dean (07:00):
It canceled it.
So did you get to come outbefore the storm at all and see
anything, or no?
I didn't, I did not.
So did you get to come outbefore the storm at all, like
and see anything or no?
Wayne Yurtin (07:06):
I didn't, I did not, so I I had just arrived
that day.
Allison Volk Dean (07:11):
Okay.
Wayne Yurtin (07:11):
And, but it's kind of funny.
I mean that that next day, youknow, we all thought, hey, maybe
it will clear.
So I spent the whole day justmeeting people in parking lots,
you know, in the nugget andeverywhere and just, you know,
just learning as much as I could.
Allison Volk Dean (07:22):
What did you think about that?
Wayne Yurtin (07:23):
Oh, I was blown away.
I was like, yeah, I'mdefinitely doing this.
Allison Volk Dean (07:25):
You like the people and you're like this is
this is cool, this is yeah, it'sjust like a small community.
Wayne Yurtin (07:30):
It's.
It's really it's got a goodfeel to it Good vibe, yeah, okay
.
So then, uh, vance and a bunchof the garage shop guys and
Aaron all met at SEMA, afterthat, 2022, bonneville, and by
(07:52):
then I was kind of developing aplan.
Hey, this is what I'm thinking.
And honestly, in the beginningI thought you know what I can do
this.
But then when I came out here,I'm like, okay, I don't even
know how to weld.
I'm good with restoringoriginal Corvettes, but you know
, doing something like this, ifI'm going to do it, I'm going to
jump in.
You know all in yeah.
So I was kind of like no, I needsome assistance here.
(08:14):
This is going to have to besomething I'm going to have to
find out to Charlotte wherethey're at.
And um, yeah, we kind ofdeveloped the plan and we
basically had the car built umfor last year's Bonneville, so
we had it in the nugget parkinglot, you know in the back there,
(08:35):
and um, by you guys, the twoclubs right by us.
And that's when I was like, hey, what's the two club?
man, I got to learn about thisand I was already listening to
your podcast by then.
I remember I ran into you inthe parking lot.
Yeah, in fact, just like that.
I mean, you know, youintroduced me to your husband
because he's got a Corvette.
Allison Volk Dean (08:51):
He has an 84 Corvette Yep.
Wayne Yurtin (08:53):
And he's in GT.
I was in GT and I thought youknow shit, he's kind of a
competitor of mine.
But yeah, he just like openedup about all of his ideas on
Arrow and you know why he's gottwo parachutes.
And I was like God, this is.
And everyone was like that.
Everyone just sharesinformation.
And yeah, I was, I was sold,yeah, but we didn't run the car
last year.
You know it was, it was kind ofmushy, you know.
(09:14):
I know some people did run, butyou know the car had just been
built.
Allison Volk Dean (09:18):
It was your first year.
I mean, I don't Don't blame youat all, that was not good
condition.
Wayne Yurtin (09:22):
I wanted to run it , something.
You know, my dad was out hereand my wife and my kids.
Allison Volk Dean (09:25):
you know it's like, but we decided not to and
so that's two Bonnevilles thatyou just basically hung out in
the Nugget parking lot, that'sright, and talking to people.
But that was.
It was still fun to haveeverybody hanging out and and I
mean we wanted to be racing, youknow, talking to people and
kind of being able to just sitthere and BS instead of having
to wrench for a little bit.
(09:45):
So I enjoyed it.
Wayne Yurtin (09:47):
And what I did was , you know, we, you know, I
looked at all the classes andthe key driving thing for me is
I wanted that Corvette to stilllook like a 65 Corvette.
So that's why I went for the GTclass at that time.
So it was a 427 motor, so BGTand, um, we did put a front air
dam on it just for safety.
So we knew, you know, you'renot going to be able to get a
(10:08):
record with that, cause youcan't have that in GT.
But it was like you know, allthese old timers and NCRS told
me you know, 140 miles an hourthat front end is going to come
off the ground.
Um, so I was like, should Ibetter?
I better do something aboutthat.
Um, so anyway, but we ran thatcar that October and November
and I was like God, I kind offell in love with El Mirage too.
(10:30):
I was like, wow, this is reallyslick.
We all camp out there and had agood time, learned a lot about
the car.
Sure enough, I could only getit to about 170 there and it
would just get super loose inthe back.
So after that season I said youknow what?
I'm going to move to modifiedGT, because I do want to.
I got to get over 200 and thiscar is probably not going to be
(10:52):
able to do it.
So, and with modified GT, I canadd a big wing in the back.
I can add a full belly pan.
I can.
I can add a front air dam andit'll be legal.
So, uh, so that's what we didlast winter and had the car
already for the first El Mirageevent in May.
So I've done May, June.
I was all set to do July.
It was too hot so they canceledit with me oh, they did Wow.
(11:16):
Yeah, and then I came here now.
Allison Volk Dean (11:20):
You had a little green puck up your face.
I know, these little thingsbite too.
I felt one bite me.
I was like oh my gosh.
Wayne Yurtin (11:28):
This little green thing landed on my sunglasses.
Allison Volk Dean (11:30):
I know you're like how did they get out here?
Even, um, so, okay, so, but uh.
So El Mirage, um, that's reallywhere you first race.
You get a race at then versus.
Wayne Yurtin (11:42):
Bonneville.
Allison Volk Dean (11:44):
Um and well, it sounds like you did.
Well, Did you get a record atEl Mirage, and well?
Wayne Yurtin (11:49):
it sounds like you did well.
Did you get a record at ElMirage?
I am so close.
So the minimum for modified GTout there no one's got a record
yet and so it's 200.0.
Yeah, and it's only a mile anda third, so you got to really
get on it, oh yeah.
And so I've been just floatingaround 198.
So you know 197.9, 198.2, 197.9.
(12:10):
So I'm really close.
So yeah, after that, after thatJune event, we kind of put our
heads together, you know, kindof working closely with the
carburetor builder and theengine builder and everything
and timing and carb jets.
So we thought in July we'relike I think we got this.
And then you know the eventdidn't happen, but we're all set
(12:32):
for September.
So in three weeks from now I'mgoing back to El Mirage.
If it doesn't happen, then I'mgoing back, whether it does
happen or it doesn't happen.
Allison Volk Dean (12:39):
I'm going back every other El Mirage.
I'm getting that record one wayor another.
I'm going to try at least so.
Did you learn any lessons onyour car or in racing in general
at those at those El Miragemeets?
Wayne Yurtin (12:51):
Yeah, the one thing when I was doing road
racing is you know I do these,you know three or four track
days before a race and so youknow, you just spend the whole
day just lapping and lapping andlapping and it's always amazing
to see your lap times like thatfirst couple hours when you get
that first track day to thelast lap of a race, and it's
(13:11):
just amazing the improvement youmake over three or four days.
And that's hard in land speedracing, cause, yeah, I, yeah, I
don't just come out here, youknow and and do a bunch of runs,
right, it's so, you know.
I think back to it just withall the El Mirage races and now
Bonneville.
I mean, what have I made?
20 passes or something you know, so it's not a lot.
Um, so I do.
(13:32):
I feel like I'm learning a tonevery time.
So, yeah and um, uh, yeah.
Allison Volk Dean (13:37):
Did you make any adjustments on your car
after those those meets at ElMirage for out here.
Wayne Yurtin (13:42):
Yeah, and and yeah , I should.
I should have mentioned that.
So what we did was when thatcar was so loose, when it was
set up for GT.
After that last November racein El Mirage, we took the car to
the wind tunnel in Charlottearea A2 wind tunnel and, man, we
learned a ton.
So we found out that at thatspeed that I was at that 172,
(14:04):
174, when it was getting reallyloose, it had over 500 pounds of
lift in the back, just the waythat body is shaped and it also
had quite a bit of lift in thefront, even with that you know
sort of you know small air damthat we had.
So from that, yeah, we actually,you know, built that wing with
all that information, that frontair dam, took it back several
(14:25):
times to the A2 wind tunnel andnow we're, you know, over 500
pounds of downforce instead oflift in the back and, uh, and
also I can't remember whatnumber was, but you know,
obviously, yeah, a bunch ofdownforce in the front as well.
Now, so that's good, um, so,yeah, so there's.
So, you know, with all thatlearning, um, we do make small
(14:45):
tweaks and adjustments here andthere, you know, on on shocks
and the wing adjustments andstuff the wicker in the back,
and so we keep messing with thatstuff and got a great you know
a great team here that just youknow.
These guys have done this stuffa lot, so I wouldn't be this
far without these guys.
Allison Volk Dean (15:01):
It sure looks like they know what they're
doing, at least in terms of,like, getting a pit set up.
It's a really nice pit area.
I think my kid was stealingyour guys' Wi-Fi yesterday.
Oh, that's funny.
Wayne Yurtin (15:09):
I know.
Allison Volk Dean (15:11):
He's like you can log on to this Wi-Fi.
I was like, okay, startling, soyou come to Bonneville, you
finally get a race.
What do you think about it?
Like, what is your first rundown the?
You don't have to license up,right?
I?
Wayne Yurtin (15:30):
did.
Oh, you did Okay.
Yeah, so okay.
Allison Volk Dean (15:32):
So let's hear what you did this week.
Wayne Yurtin (15:34):
Yeah, so so my first pass had to be under 150,
you know, which is kind of hardbecause I'm used to really being
on this car, you know hard.
And at El Mirage, like I said,I mean it's a drag race, only a
mile and a third, um, so I thinkthat was honestly probably my
hardest pass that I did thisweek.
Was that under one 50.
I'm like, wait, am I going tobe in third gear at what?
Allison Volk Dean (15:54):
It's hard to go slow.
Wayne Yurtin (15:57):
Um, but yeah, so that was, that was cool, that
was easy and it's kind of fun,you know, taking it all in Right
, and I had to do the rookieorientation and stuff, so, um,
but no, that was all good.
And then, um, um, um, um, yeah,just kind of walking through
all the different levels andstuff, um, I did have a little
misstep, uh, when I got to thepoint where I had to go 175 to
(16:17):
200.
I went a little too fast, so,um, I got my hand slapped shame,
shame.
I had to redo that pass, whichit was totally my fault.
Um, but yeah, but then, uh, butthen when I was allowed to open
it up, uh, I went.
What did I do?
I went to 11 at the two and aquarter I believe it was and did
(16:39):
did 220 between the three andthe four.
Allison Volk Dean (16:42):
OK, cool.
Wayne Yurtin (16:44):
And the record was 202.
Oh yeah, so that qualified mefor a record.
So you smashed that that'spretty good, and did you?
Allison Volk Dean (16:50):
get the record.
Wayne Yurtin (16:51):
I did.
Allison Volk Dean (16:51):
So you came.
Did you do your return run atthe night or did you wait till
the next?
Wayne Yurtin (16:55):
I went until the next morning.
Yeah, so the car went intoimpound.
Allison Volk Dean (16:58):
I like it yeah.
Wayne Yurtin (17:00):
And it was.
It was awesome to do it firstthing in the morning, yeah, and
everyone's like oh yeah, there'sthis whole parade that take.
I'm like there it is.
What's the deal with that?
Allison Volk Dean (17:06):
Oh, it's so fun.
I'm glad you oh the parade yeah.
Wayne Yurtin (17:13):
I mean it was, so we were first in line.
So, as it turns out, I was thefirst one down the track.
Yeah, I mean it was.
It was so awesome, and so onthat one I did 226 at that same
three to four mile.
But I decided, you know, I'mjust going to keep, I'm just
going to stay on.
I want to run the whole fivemiles this time and see what the
car will do.
(17:33):
So between the four and five itwas two, 28.
Oh wow.
So that was pretty cool.
But but the average with thatyou know, between three and four
was two 23.
Allison Volk Dean (17:43):
So that's where you got your record three
and four, so you ended up on atwo.
Oh two, there you go.
That's a man that knows hisrecord.
Wayne Yurtin (17:46):
He knows the points.
Allison Volk Dean (17:47):
I don't believe you have a record,
unless you know that Um, what um.
So when the record was two, oh2?
Yeah, okay, so you did good,that's a good.
Now, what is the club minimumon that record?
Wayne Yurtin (17:58):
235 is the club minimum?
Okay To get my red hat.
Allison Volk Dean (18:03):
So everyone knows and I think I might have
explained this before on herebut there's SCTA has its own
records and if somebody, if it'sopen, just whatever it is, is a
record and you can always getthose.
But the Bonneville 200 mile anhour club has its own records
and its own minimums.
Especially for new classes iswhat they'll have a minimum on,
(18:26):
and you know they use a formulato get them and and it really
what it is is just to preservethe integrity of the club.
So not just anybody.
You know you can't.
We have minimums, so you can'tjust come and take a, you know a
like, let's say, a fuelstreamliner, and just go over
200.
There's no challenge in that,right.
Wayne Yurtin (18:45):
Right.
Allison Volk Dean (18:45):
And so we just like to make it not
impossible.
But you know, it's the Red Hat.
Something of an accomplishment.
Wayne Yurtin (18:52):
Right, right.
No, it makes sense, and we, youknow, we were just talking last
night.
Of course, this is afterseveral beers, so I'm not sure
exactly what we're talking about, but we've got some ideas right
.
How can I get this car to 235?
Because I do want that red hat.
Yes, absolutely it's not goingto happen this Bonneville.
Allison Volk Dean (19:09):
Yeah.
Wayne Yurtin (19:10):
I'm done, we put it in the box.
We're going to take Del Mirage,but we definitely have some
ideas for next year.
Allison Volk Dean (19:15):
I think that's good.
To take your time too.
I think that's smart and wise.
There's not this.
You know, you drudge to get itdone.
So, what did you?
So you put it in the box, butwhat did you learn?
What are the things that you'rethinking about doing to get
that 235?
Wayne Yurtin (19:31):
Well, a couple of things.
So a couple of things come tomind.
So one is you know, afteryesterday afternoon we had a
photo shot, or a photo shootwith the Steelet guys.
They were out here becausethey're a sponsor with Aaron,
and it was really funny.
I had the helmet on the car andand I say, hey, you know,
before you take that shot, letme, let me peel off the sticker
which was the rookie sticker,and that's that's when it kind
(19:52):
of hit me.
I was like, oh my God, I justgot a record and I'm peeling off
my rookie sticker that I gottoday.
I mean, you know, I was likethis is pretty cool.
Allison Volk Dean (19:58):
I was like man, this is very cool, this is
pretty slick.
Wayne Yurtin (20:02):
Um and so so, yeah , so, record wise, um, we've got
a couple ideas for, um, somemotor enhancements.
You know, when I, when I hadthis motor built um, it was a
gentleman named Jeff Collins, sohe's built tons of NASCAR
motors and he works with thegarage shop a bunch, but you
know, but he told me he said,hey, you know, he's like
weighing this things, it's, youwant performance?
Allison Volk Dean (20:27):
or you want longevity.
Wayne Yurtin (20:29):
So you know, he's like you know and I told him.
I said I don't want to beswapping motors every three or
four months.
I mean, I don't want to beswapping motors every three or
four months.
I don't have that kind ofbudget right.
So I'm like no, I do want amotor that's going to last me a
while.
So of course now I'm callinghim like Jeff, I need a little
horsepower man.
So this thing's only got around720 horsepower for a B-class
motor.
(20:49):
And I know, like you know, shaneis telling me that for his D
motor he's got about 700horsepower.
So we could definitely push thisthing way more.
So anyway, yeah, so we got afew ideas.
And also on the aero, you knowI have probably the.
It looks slick, the C2 bodystyle, 65 Corvette looks awesome
, gorgeous, but it was not veryaero.
General Motors didn't even havea wind tunnel back in 65.
(21:11):
Oh yeah.
So you know, I look at some ofthese cars that are running to
my class where I, like a 2000Corvette had the 202 record.
I mean, what is that?
That's, like you know, 35 yearsnewer than mine, right?
So obviously there's a lot moreaero in those, those kinds of
body styles.
So we got to find some otherways to help us work on your
aero package there.
Yeah.
Allison Volk Dean (21:31):
OK, do you have any ideas that you're
thinking of for that?
Wayne Yurtin (21:34):
Yeah, a couple, but we got to keep them a little
secret.
You're not willing to?
Allison Volk Dean (21:38):
divulge.
That's okay, that's fair thatis fair.
So what would you say to peoplethat, well, before we go there,
hold on, let me think.
What other future plans besidesthat, besides just the next
(22:00):
year, do you have future plansabout Bonneville?
Are you thinking about anyother type of cars, or are you
going to just stick to this orwhat you're thinking.
Wayne Yurtin (22:06):
No, I love the C2 Corvette body styles.
Allison Volk Dean (22:10):
So I'm sticking with this car.
Wayne Yurtin (22:11):
We may you know, who knows, I may mess around
with different engine classes,okay, but I think I'll stick
with the modified GT.
And then 65 Corvette Cool, yeah, yeah, I'm pretty.
Allison Volk Dean (22:20):
Yeah, it's a beautiful Corvette, so people
will see the pictures when I putthem on social.
But it's gorgeous, thanks,thanks.
Well, and you were in techafter you got your record and
you're like, oh, how am I goingto get the salt off this car?
And I was like that's whateveryone was thinking when you
brought this car out, becauseit's just so, it's just cherry.
Wayne Yurtin (22:41):
It's just gorgeous .
Allison Volk Dean (22:42):
We haven't taken the belly pans off yet I
know it's just caked with saltin there.
Wayne Yurtin (22:46):
I mean, it scares me.
I mean, when I restoreCorvettes, you know, back to
original, we look at some ofthese East coast cars and we get
Midwest cars and it's like, ohmy God, the rust is so bad.
So, yeah, we're going to do afull.
You know disinfection.
Allison Volk Dean (23:01):
Wise.
Well, what would you say topeople that are coming out to
Bonneville or thinking about,like you know, maybe like as a
newbie?
What would you say to landspeed racers or people that want
to be land speed racers?
Land speed racers or people?
Wayne Yurtin (23:15):
that want to be land speed racers.
Yeah, my biggest thing would bejust, you know, get out here
and experience it, even ifyou're not racing, just get out
here and experience it and thenjust jump in, you know, because
you know I could have jumped injust, you know, build a car, me
and my buddy, just get thisthing built and come out here
and you know, yeah, maybe you'renot going to grab a record
right off the bat or anythinglike that, but you know, get out
here, run it, get someexperience.
(23:35):
Yeah, you get, you just got tojump in and do it and some
advice.
Allison Volk Dean (23:39):
Yeah, you get plenty of advice.
Wayne Yurtin (23:41):
Tons of advice.
I mean it's it's hilarious thatyou know we're sitting in the
pits and I get all these guyscome.
Hey, you know you're, you're.
Allison Volk Dean (23:47):
You need to slam the front of that car a lot
and then other guys are likeyou can ask 10 different people
and you get 10 different answerson the on what you're looking
for, and he's like you just kindof have to do go with your gut
and and see if that works.
Yeah, yeah.
Wayne Yurtin (24:06):
And we're, you know, we'll probably, you know,
do some incremental tweaks too,I mean, just like this whole
wing design.
I mean this is the first timewe ever ran it, so we'll
probably now take all this data,everything that we've learned,
and and go back to the windtunnel and in the winter, over
the winter, yeah.
And, yeah, maybe make somesubtle things there too.
Allison Volk Dean (24:23):
Yeah, cool.
Was there anything else thatyou wanted to talk about?
Wayne Yurtin (24:29):
No, I think that's good.
Intro (24:29):
I think you did great Thanks for listening to Land
Speed Legends.
Make sure you subscribe so youdon't miss any future episodes.
In the meantime, keep up withthe show on Facebook and
Instagram under Land SpeedLegends.
Until next time.
Welcome to Landspeed Legends, a podcast talking to
the men, the women, the legendsthat make land speed racing
great.
Discover the stories of theseordinary people whose passion
for land speed racing has madethem legendary.
And now here's your host theBonneville Belle, the High Boy,
(00:23):
honey, the salt princess, alisonVolk-Dean.
Allison Volk Dean (00:30):
Kind of have to start, you know, in order to.
Wayne Yurtin (00:33):
That's like everything Exactly.
Allison Volk Dean (00:35):
And people, I think, get hung up with having
it to be perfect in order to dosomething.
It's like, oh, it's never goingto be perfect.
Getting married, having kids,whatever you know, like just do
it Exactly you got to getstarted.
Okay, so today with me I havethe legendary Wayne Yurton.
He doesn't think he's legendaryenough, to be honest, but he's
(00:55):
kind of a newbie to Bonnevilleand um, but I think it's pretty
legendary to say, hey, I want todo this thing and you get it
done.
So I think that is that kind ofthere's a lot of people that
say they want to do it and itnever happens.
So I think seeing you as a newperson coming out here is a
great interview.
I'll be a good, good interviewfor people to hear.
(01:16):
Ok, so we were talking earlierand you were saying how you kind
of started out.
Racing really was in your BMXdays.
That's right.
Younger, I don't know, were youa teenager early 20s?
Wayne Yurtin (01:29):
No, I was geez.
Allison Volk Dean (01:31):
I was probably seven years old, eight
years old, okay you startedBMXing and then you said you
liked that over other sportsbecause you liked the mechanics
of it.
Wayne Yurtin (01:39):
Yeah, so I mean, I played a lot of different
sports and I loved and I I lovedeverything from golf to
basketball and baseball.
But for some reason, you know,it was like the mechanical
aspect of BMX racing, the racingand the competitiveness.
But I love the idea of justtearing your bike all down and
you know grease and bearings andput it all back together and
yeah it just.
(01:59):
And then that always stuck withme and I probably did it until
I was I don't know, maybe 16 orso stuck with me and I probably
did it until I was, I don't know, maybe 16 or so.
Allison Volk Dean (02:08):
Yeah, okay, cool.
And then, um, that's I likethat, because that's kind of
just maybe that engineering mindof yours that is going to help
you later on when you startracing here and maybe just like
the beginning base for it all.
So and then, um, so what didyou do after that?
You got into some other typesof racing.
Wayne Yurtin (02:23):
You were saying yeah, so I, you know, probably
the next big step was my wifehad gotten me a certificate for
Bondurant driving school, youknow, when I was in my I don't
know, maybe my 30s or somethinglike that, and so went out to
Arizona, chandler, and did oneof those classes and I was like,
oh my gosh, I got to get intothis.
(02:44):
So you know, before you knew it, I took every class they'd
offered.
And then I got into racingFormula Fords, did some SCCA
racing and moved on to FormulaMazdas and and I was working at
Apple at the time and then andthen from there I ended up
starting a few softwarecompanies.
So it was, you know, it waskind of like my side hobby.
I mean, starting the companieswas my real main focus.
(03:04):
But yeah, I just I reallyenjoyed sort of the club racing.
Allison Volk Dean (03:08):
Yeah, and so what was your?
What would you say was yourfavorite type out of those ones?
Wayne Yurtin (03:13):
It was probably the Formula Mazdas.
It was super competitive andthe cars were, you know, very,
very equal.
Allison Volk Dean (03:19):
Okay, so it was more like a driver's thing.
Wayne Yurtin (03:21):
That's right.
It came down to the driver.
Allison Volk Dean (03:23):
Yeah, kind of like out here.
Well, you know it's out here,it's both.
But yeah, well, when you get inthe 2 Club it's a driver's club
, so hopefully we'll get youthere soon.
And then, so you were just, youwere racing these cars, and
then what?
You started to decide to getinto Bonneville.
So what got you interested inBonneville in the beginning?
(03:46):
Were you always interested init, or is it always in the back
of your mind?
Wayne Yurtin (03:51):
Or was it something that came up later in
life?
I think I was five or six yearsold and it was Gary Gablich,
the Blue Flame, nice.
I remember seeing that newsstory.
My dad was watching.
I'm like what is that?
Where are they at, you know?
And he's going over 600 milesan hour and I was like that is
amazing, I've got it.
You know, it was in the back ofmy mind all my life.
Allison Volk Dean (04:10):
That's so cool.
Wayne Yurtin (04:11):
So, yeah, kind of probably fast forward, you know
way.
You know, after severalcompanies and everything, and I
got really into C2 Corvettes, soI sort of retired from the
software industry and, um, and Ibought a 63 split window that
needed complete restoration.
So I got really into and justworking on this car and and I
(04:32):
decided, you know, I want thisthing to be, you know, exactly
original.
So I got involved in NCRS,which is the National Corvette
Restorer Society.
You know, and these guys aresuper anal, these master judges
go over your car, they comb overyour car.
You know every piece of it,from the bolt, you know the, the
markings on the head bolts andyou know what kind of platings
on there and you know, do allthe dates match up?
(04:53):
So and I sort of dug that, youknow I was like how I want to
make sure this car is allcorrect, oh cool.
So I restored that 63 and um,and then a guy in our club said,
um, hey, could you restore my63?
You know he liked what we didand, uh, me and my buddy had
worked on it.
So I said, yeah, we'll do yours.
And then that kind of led toanother guy in the club of the
66.
And and then it sort of endedup uh, we started a company
(05:16):
called C2 restorations, wherethat's all we do, we just
restore those C2 Corvettes,which is the second generation.
And that's when I said you know,I'd really like to do something
totally different, you know,away from NCRS, which is, you
know, let's get into land speedracing with a C2 Corvette.
Allison Volk Dean (05:34):
So, and that was you know the blue flame in
the back of my mind, GaryGabbard's coming through.
Wayne Yurtin (05:36):
I want to do that with a Corvette.
Allison Volk Dean (05:38):
Yeah, very cool.
So so that just the idea kindof starts right there Like, oh,
I'm going to, I'm going to racethis out on the salt or land
speed, actually, because you doEl Mirage as well.
Right, that's right, ok, yeah.
Wayne Yurtin (05:51):
So this is probably around 2020,.
I would say, and you know, I'mkind of a guy that does a lot of
research before I jump intosomething, and so I started
researching, you know, hey, soyou know what are the rules for
that and where do you do it?
And then I found, oh, there'sno Mirage and there's a
Bonneville Okay, two locationshere.
Um, but Bonneville was alwaysmy, you know, it was always
pulling me towards Bonneville,um, so, anyway, so I started
(06:15):
doing a little bit more researchand I ran across a gentleman
named Vance Kirshner and, uh,and he works closely with the
garage shop guys, it turns outand I saw that he was a CEO of a
software company and that wassort of my background.
And so I reached out to him justto say, hey, yeah, this is kind
of my vision, this is mybackground, this is what I want
to do.
And he said, oh, you got tocome out to Bonneville and meet
(06:35):
all of us, and I was planning togo out to Bonneville, and that
was 2022 by then.
Yeah, so I met, he met Vance, Ialso met Aaron Brown and a
bunch of the garage shop guys,and we all started talking about
this vision that I had and thenI was so excited to watch
racing that year.
And about 30 minutes after wehad all these long conversations
(06:56):
is when that storm moved andthat year there was no racing at
all.
Allison Volk Dean (07:00):
It canceled it.
So did you get to come outbefore the storm at all and see
anything, or no?
I didn't, I did not.
So did you get to come outbefore the storm at all, like
and see anything or no?
Wayne Yurtin (07:06):
I didn't, I did not, so I I had just arrived
that day.
Allison Volk Dean (07:11):
Okay.
Wayne Yurtin (07:11):
And, but it's kind of funny.
I mean that that next day, youknow, we all thought, hey, maybe
it will clear.
So I spent the whole day justmeeting people in parking lots,
you know, in the nugget andeverywhere and just, you know,
just learning as much as I could.
Allison Volk Dean (07:22):
What did you think about that?
Wayne Yurtin (07:23):
Oh, I was blown away.
I was like, yeah, I'mdefinitely doing this.
Allison Volk Dean (07:25):
You like the people and you're like this is
this is cool, this is yeah, it'sjust like a small community.
Wayne Yurtin (07:30):
It's.
It's really it's got a goodfeel to it Good vibe, yeah, okay
.
So then, uh, vance and a bunchof the garage shop guys and
Aaron all met at SEMA, afterthat, 2022, bonneville, and by
(07:52):
then I was kind of developing aplan.
Hey, this is what I'm thinking.
And honestly, in the beginningI thought you know what I can do
this.
But then when I came out here,I'm like, okay, I don't even
know how to weld.
I'm good with restoringoriginal Corvettes, but you know
, doing something like this, ifI'm going to do it, I'm going to
jump in.
You know all in yeah.
So I was kind of like no, I needsome assistance here.
(08:14):
This is going to have to besomething I'm going to have to
find out to Charlotte wherethey're at.
And um, yeah, we kind ofdeveloped the plan and we
basically had the car built umfor last year's Bonneville, so
we had it in the nugget parkinglot, you know in the back there,
(08:35):
and um, by you guys, the twoclubs right by us.
And that's when I was like, hey, what's the two club?
man, I got to learn about thisand I was already listening to
your podcast by then.
I remember I ran into you inthe parking lot.
Yeah, in fact, just like that.
I mean, you know, youintroduced me to your husband
because he's got a Corvette.
Allison Volk Dean (08:51):
He has an 84 Corvette Yep.
Wayne Yurtin (08:53):
And he's in GT.
I was in GT and I thought youknow shit, he's kind of a
competitor of mine.
But yeah, he just like openedup about all of his ideas on
Arrow and you know why he's gottwo parachutes.
And I was like God, this is.
And everyone was like that.
Everyone just sharesinformation.
And yeah, I was, I was sold,yeah, but we didn't run the car
last year.
You know it was, it was kind ofmushy, you know.
(09:14):
I know some people did run, butyou know the car had just been
built.
Allison Volk Dean (09:18):
It was your first year.
I mean, I don't Don't blame youat all, that was not good
condition.
Wayne Yurtin (09:22):
I wanted to run it , something.
You know, my dad was out hereand my wife and my kids.
Allison Volk Dean (09:25):
you know it's like, but we decided not to and
so that's two Bonnevilles thatyou just basically hung out in
the Nugget parking lot, that'sright, and talking to people.
But that was.
It was still fun to haveeverybody hanging out and and I
mean we wanted to be racing, youknow, talking to people and
kind of being able to just sitthere and BS instead of having
to wrench for a little bit.
(09:45):
So I enjoyed it.
Wayne Yurtin (09:47):
And what I did was , you know, we, you know, I
looked at all the classes andthe key driving thing for me is
I wanted that Corvette to stilllook like a 65 Corvette.
So that's why I went for the GTclass at that time.
So it was a 427 motor, so BGTand, um, we did put a front air
dam on it just for safety.
So we knew, you know, you'renot going to be able to get a
(10:08):
record with that, cause youcan't have that in GT.
But it was like you know, allthese old timers and NCRS told
me you know, 140 miles an hourthat front end is going to come
off the ground.
Um, so I was like, should Ibetter?
I better do something aboutthat.
Um, so anyway, but we ran thatcar that October and November
and I was like God, I kind offell in love with El Mirage too.
(10:30):
I was like, wow, this is reallyslick.
We all camp out there and had agood time, learned a lot about
the car.
Sure enough, I could only getit to about 170 there and it
would just get super loose inthe back.
So after that season I said youknow what?
I'm going to move to modifiedGT, because I do want to.
I got to get over 200 and thiscar is probably not going to be
(10:52):
able to do it.
So, and with modified GT, I canadd a big wing in the back.
I can add a full belly pan.
I can.
I can add a front air dam andit'll be legal.
So, uh, so that's what we didlast winter and had the car
already for the first El Mirageevent in May.
So I've done May, June.
I was all set to do July.
It was too hot so they canceledit with me oh, they did Wow.
(11:16):
Yeah, and then I came here now.
Allison Volk Dean (11:20):
You had a little green puck up your face.
I know, these little thingsbite too.
I felt one bite me.
I was like oh my gosh.
Wayne Yurtin (11:28):
This little green thing landed on my sunglasses.
Allison Volk Dean (11:30):
I know you're like how did they get out here?
Even, um, so, okay, so, but uh.
So El Mirage, um, that's reallywhere you first race.
You get a race at then versus.
Wayne Yurtin (11:42):
Bonneville.
Allison Volk Dean (11:44):
Um and well, it sounds like you did.
Well, Did you get a record atEl Mirage, and well?
Wayne Yurtin (11:49):
it sounds like you did well.
Did you get a record at ElMirage?
I am so close.
So the minimum for modified GTout there no one's got a record
yet and so it's 200.0.
Yeah, and it's only a mile anda third, so you got to really
get on it, oh yeah.
And so I've been just floatingaround 198.
So you know 197.9, 198.2, 197.9.
(12:10):
So I'm really close.
So yeah, after that, after thatJune event, we kind of put our
heads together, you know, kindof working closely with the
carburetor builder and theengine builder and everything
and timing and carb jets.
So we thought in July we'relike I think we got this.
And then you know the eventdidn't happen, but we're all set
(12:32):
for September.
So in three weeks from now I'mgoing back to El Mirage.
If it doesn't happen, then I'mgoing back, whether it does
happen or it doesn't happen.
Allison Volk Dean (12:39):
I'm going back every other El Mirage.
I'm getting that record one wayor another.
I'm going to try at least so.
Did you learn any lessons onyour car or in racing in general
at those at those El Miragemeets?
Wayne Yurtin (12:51):
Yeah, the one thing when I was doing road
racing is you know I do these,you know three or four track
days before a race and so youknow, you just spend the whole
day just lapping and lapping andlapping and it's always amazing
to see your lap times like thatfirst couple hours when you get
that first track day to thelast lap of a race, and it's
(13:11):
just amazing the improvement youmake over three or four days.
And that's hard in land speedracing, cause, yeah, I, yeah, I
don't just come out here, youknow and and do a bunch of runs,
right, it's so, you know.
I think back to it just withall the El Mirage races and now
Bonneville.
I mean, what have I made?
20 passes or something you know, so it's not a lot.
Um, so I do.
(13:32):
I feel like I'm learning a tonevery time.
So, yeah and um, uh, yeah.
Allison Volk Dean (13:37):
Did you make any adjustments on your car
after those those meets at ElMirage for out here.
Wayne Yurtin (13:42):
Yeah, and and yeah , I should.
I should have mentioned that.
So what we did was when thatcar was so loose, when it was
set up for GT.
After that last November racein El Mirage, we took the car to
the wind tunnel in Charlottearea A2 wind tunnel and, man, we
learned a ton.
So we found out that at thatspeed that I was at that 172,
(14:04):
174, when it was getting reallyloose, it had over 500 pounds of
lift in the back, just the waythat body is shaped and it also
had quite a bit of lift in thefront, even with that you know
sort of you know small air damthat we had.
So from that, yeah, we actually,you know, built that wing with
all that information, that frontair dam, took it back several
(14:25):
times to the A2 wind tunnel andnow we're, you know, over 500
pounds of downforce instead oflift in the back and, uh, and
also I can't remember whatnumber was, but you know,
obviously, yeah, a bunch ofdownforce in the front as well.
Now, so that's good, um, so,yeah, so there's.
So, you know, with all thatlearning, um, we do make small
(14:45):
tweaks and adjustments here andthere, you know, on on shocks
and the wing adjustments andstuff the wicker in the back,
and so we keep messing with thatstuff and got a great you know
a great team here that just youknow.
These guys have done this stuffa lot, so I wouldn't be this
far without these guys.
Allison Volk Dean (15:01):
It sure looks like they know what they're
doing, at least in terms of,like, getting a pit set up.
It's a really nice pit area.
I think my kid was stealingyour guys' Wi-Fi yesterday.
Oh, that's funny.
Wayne Yurtin (15:09):
I know.
Allison Volk Dean (15:11):
He's like you can log on to this Wi-Fi.
I was like, okay, startling, soyou come to Bonneville, you
finally get a race.
What do you think about it?
Like, what is your first rundown the?
You don't have to license up,right?
I?
Wayne Yurtin (15:30):
did.
Oh, you did Okay.
Yeah, so okay.
Allison Volk Dean (15:32):
So let's hear what you did this week.
Wayne Yurtin (15:34):
Yeah, so so my first pass had to be under 150,
you know, which is kind of hardbecause I'm used to really being
on this car, you know hard.
And at El Mirage, like I said,I mean it's a drag race, only a
mile and a third, um, so I thinkthat was honestly probably my
hardest pass that I did thisweek.
Was that under one 50.
I'm like, wait, am I going tobe in third gear at what?
Allison Volk Dean (15:54):
It's hard to go slow.
Wayne Yurtin (15:57):
Um, but yeah, so that was, that was cool, that
was easy and it's kind of fun,you know, taking it all in Right
, and I had to do the rookieorientation and stuff, so, um,
but no, that was all good.
And then, um, um, um, um, yeah,just kind of walking through
all the different levels andstuff, um, I did have a little
misstep, uh, when I got to thepoint where I had to go 175 to
(16:17):
200.
I went a little too fast, so,um, I got my hand slapped shame,
shame.
I had to redo that pass, whichit was totally my fault.
Um, but yeah, but then, uh, butthen when I was allowed to open
it up, uh, I went.
What did I do?
I went to 11 at the two and aquarter I believe it was and did
(16:39):
did 220 between the three andthe four.
Allison Volk Dean (16:42):
OK, cool.
Wayne Yurtin (16:44):
And the record was 202.
Oh yeah, so that qualified mefor a record.
So you smashed that that'spretty good, and did you?
Allison Volk Dean (16:50):
get the record.
Wayne Yurtin (16:51):
I did.
Allison Volk Dean (16:51):
So you came.
Did you do your return run atthe night or did you wait till
the next?
Wayne Yurtin (16:55):
I went until the next morning.
Yeah, so the car went intoimpound.
Allison Volk Dean (16:58):
I like it yeah.
Wayne Yurtin (17:00):
And it was.
It was awesome to do it firstthing in the morning, yeah, and
everyone's like oh yeah, there'sthis whole parade that take.
I'm like there it is.
What's the deal with that?
Allison Volk Dean (17:06):
Oh, it's so fun.
I'm glad you oh the parade yeah.
Wayne Yurtin (17:13):
I mean it was, so we were first in line.
So, as it turns out, I was thefirst one down the track.
Yeah, I mean it was.
It was so awesome, and so onthat one I did 226 at that same
three to four mile.
But I decided, you know, I'mjust going to keep, I'm just
going to stay on.
I want to run the whole fivemiles this time and see what the
car will do.
(17:33):
So between the four and five itwas two, 28.
Oh wow.
So that was pretty cool.
But but the average with thatyou know, between three and four
was two 23.
Allison Volk Dean (17:43):
So that's where you got your record three
and four, so you ended up on atwo.
Oh two, there you go.
That's a man that knows hisrecord.
Wayne Yurtin (17:46):
He knows the points.
Allison Volk Dean (17:47):
I don't believe you have a record,
unless you know that Um, what um.
So when the record was two, oh2?
Yeah, okay, so you did good,that's a good.
Now, what is the club minimumon that record?
Wayne Yurtin (17:58):
235 is the club minimum?
Okay To get my red hat.
Allison Volk Dean (18:03):
So everyone knows and I think I might have
explained this before on herebut there's SCTA has its own
records and if somebody, if it'sopen, just whatever it is, is a
record and you can always getthose.
But the Bonneville 200 mile anhour club has its own records
and its own minimums.
Especially for new classes iswhat they'll have a minimum on,
(18:26):
and you know they use a formulato get them and and it really
what it is is just to preservethe integrity of the club.
So not just anybody.
You know you can't.
We have minimums, so you can'tjust come and take a, you know a
like, let's say, a fuelstreamliner, and just go over
200.
There's no challenge in that,right.
Wayne Yurtin (18:45):
Right.
Allison Volk Dean (18:45):
And so we just like to make it not
impossible.
But you know, it's the Red Hat.
Something of an accomplishment.
Wayne Yurtin (18:52):
Right, right.
No, it makes sense, and we, youknow, we were just talking last
night.
Of course, this is afterseveral beers, so I'm not sure
exactly what we're talking about, but we've got some ideas right
.
How can I get this car to 235?
Because I do want that red hat.
Yes, absolutely it's not goingto happen this Bonneville.
Allison Volk Dean (19:09):
Yeah.
Wayne Yurtin (19:10):
I'm done, we put it in the box.
We're going to take Del Mirage,but we definitely have some
ideas for next year.
Allison Volk Dean (19:15):
I think that's good.
To take your time too.
I think that's smart and wise.
There's not this.
You know, you drudge to get itdone.
So, what did you?
So you put it in the box, butwhat did you learn?
What are the things that you'rethinking about doing to get
that 235?
Wayne Yurtin (19:31):
Well, a couple of things.
So a couple of things come tomind.
So one is you know, afteryesterday afternoon we had a
photo shot, or a photo shootwith the Steelet guys.
They were out here becausethey're a sponsor with Aaron,
and it was really funny.
I had the helmet on the car andand I say, hey, you know,
before you take that shot, letme, let me peel off the sticker
which was the rookie sticker,and that's that's when it kind
(19:52):
of hit me.
I was like, oh my God, I justgot a record and I'm peeling off
my rookie sticker that I gottoday.
I mean, you know, I was likethis is pretty cool.
Allison Volk Dean (19:58):
I was like man, this is very cool, this is
pretty slick.
Wayne Yurtin (20:02):
Um and so so, yeah , so, record wise, um, we've got
a couple ideas for, um, somemotor enhancements.
You know, when I, when I hadthis motor built um, it was a
gentleman named Jeff Collins, sohe's built tons of NASCAR
motors and he works with thegarage shop a bunch, but you
know, but he told me he said,hey, you know, he's like
weighing this things, it's, youwant performance?
Allison Volk Dean (20:27):
or you want longevity.
Wayne Yurtin (20:29):
So you know, he's like you know and I told him.
I said I don't want to beswapping motors every three or
four months.
I mean, I don't want to beswapping motors every three or
four months.
I don't have that kind ofbudget right.
So I'm like no, I do want amotor that's going to last me a
while.
So of course now I'm callinghim like Jeff, I need a little
horsepower man.
So this thing's only got around720 horsepower for a B-class
motor.
(20:49):
And I know, like you know, shaneis telling me that for his D
motor he's got about 700horsepower.
So we could definitely push thisthing way more.
So anyway, yeah, so we got afew ideas.
And also on the aero, you knowI have probably the.
It looks slick, the C2 bodystyle, 65 Corvette looks awesome
, gorgeous, but it was not veryaero.
General Motors didn't even havea wind tunnel back in 65.
(21:11):
Oh yeah.
So you know, I look at some ofthese cars that are running to
my class where I, like a 2000Corvette had the 202 record.
I mean, what is that?
That's, like you know, 35 yearsnewer than mine, right?
So obviously there's a lot moreaero in those, those kinds of
body styles.
So we got to find some otherways to help us work on your
aero package there.
Yeah.
Allison Volk Dean (21:31):
OK, do you have any ideas that you're
thinking of for that?
Wayne Yurtin (21:34):
Yeah, a couple, but we got to keep them a little
secret.
You're not willing to?
Allison Volk Dean (21:38):
divulge.
That's okay, that's fair thatis fair.
So what would you say to peoplethat, well, before we go there,
hold on, let me think.
What other future plans besidesthat, besides just the next
(22:00):
year, do you have future plansabout Bonneville?
Are you thinking about anyother type of cars, or are you
going to just stick to this orwhat you're thinking.
Wayne Yurtin (22:06):
No, I love the C2 Corvette body styles.
Allison Volk Dean (22:10):
So I'm sticking with this car.
Wayne Yurtin (22:11):
We may you know, who knows, I may mess around
with different engine classes,okay, but I think I'll stick
with the modified GT.
And then 65 Corvette Cool, yeah, yeah, I'm pretty.
Allison Volk Dean (22:20):
Yeah, it's a beautiful Corvette, so people
will see the pictures when I putthem on social.
But it's gorgeous, thanks,thanks.
Well, and you were in techafter you got your record and
you're like, oh, how am I goingto get the salt off this car?
And I was like that's whateveryone was thinking when you
brought this car out, becauseit's just so, it's just cherry.
Wayne Yurtin (22:41):
It's just gorgeous .
Allison Volk Dean (22:42):
We haven't taken the belly pans off yet I
know it's just caked with saltin there.
Wayne Yurtin (22:46):
I mean, it scares me.
I mean, when I restoreCorvettes, you know, back to
original, we look at some ofthese East coast cars and we get
Midwest cars and it's like, ohmy God, the rust is so bad.
So, yeah, we're going to do afull.
You know disinfection.
Allison Volk Dean (23:01):
Wise.
Well, what would you say topeople that are coming out to
Bonneville or thinking about,like you know, maybe like as a
newbie?
What would you say to landspeed racers or people that want
to be land speed racers?
Land speed racers or people?
Wayne Yurtin (23:15):
that want to be land speed racers.
Yeah, my biggest thing would bejust, you know, get out here
and experience it, even ifyou're not racing, just get out
here and experience it and thenjust jump in, you know, because
you know I could have jumped injust, you know, build a car, me
and my buddy, just get thisthing built and come out here
and you know, yeah, maybe you'renot going to grab a record
right off the bat or anythinglike that, but you know, get out
here, run it, get someexperience.
(23:35):
Yeah, you get, you just got tojump in and do it and some
advice.
Allison Volk Dean (23:39):
Yeah, you get plenty of advice.
Wayne Yurtin (23:41):
Tons of advice.
I mean it's it's hilarious thatyou know we're sitting in the
pits and I get all these guyscome.
Hey, you know you're, you're.
Allison Volk Dean (23:47):
You need to slam the front of that car a lot
and then other guys are likeyou can ask 10 different people
and you get 10 different answerson the on what you're looking
for, and he's like you just kindof have to do go with your gut
and and see if that works.
Yeah, yeah.
Wayne Yurtin (24:06):
And we're, you know, we'll probably, you know,
do some incremental tweaks too,I mean, just like this whole
wing design.
I mean this is the first timewe ever ran it, so we'll
probably now take all this data,everything that we've learned,
and and go back to the windtunnel and in the winter, over
the winter, yeah.
And, yeah, maybe make somesubtle things there too.
Allison Volk Dean (24:23):
Yeah, cool.
Was there anything else thatyou wanted to talk about?
Wayne Yurtin (24:29):
No, I think that's good.
Intro (24:29):
I think you did great Thanks for listening to Land
Speed Legends.
Make sure you subscribe so youdon't miss any future episodes.
In the meantime, keep up withthe show on Facebook and
Instagram under Land SpeedLegends.
Until next time.
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