Historically, the flats have impeded man’s movement westward. Early traders like Jedediah Smith and John Fremont crossed the vast saline plain only to return with awesome stories of the salt’s harshness. In 1846, the Donner Reed party lost animals, wagons and valuable time on the salt. These flats contributed to their late arrival and subsequent disaster in the snowy Sierra-Nevada Mountains. The flats’ potential for racing was first recognized in 1896 by W. D. Rishel, who attempted to organize a carriage and bike race. He convinced Ferg Johnson to test drive his Packard here in 1911. In 1914, Teddy Tetzlaff reached 141 mph in his Blitzen Benz. Succeeding years saw many attempts to set faster records. In 1940 Ab Jenkins set 81 new speed records in his Mormon Meteor including a 24-hour endurance record of 161 mph. Jet and rocket cars appeared in the 1960's and exceeded the 500 and 600 mph marks."