BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS, Utah -- Blinding white salt stretches across the earth to distant purple mountain ranges, an otherworldly landscape famous for providing a natural track for racers seeking breakneck speeds but fragile enough that rain can easily break it down.Thousands of adrenaline junkies have descended this week on Utahs Bonneville Salt Flats, coming from as far away as New Zealand, Japan and Russia. In this stark place about 100 miles west of Salt Lake City, they have set up a caravan of campers, tents and trailers as they spend a week trying to beat the clock -- some topping speeds of 400 mph.They haul modified motorcycles, vintage hot rods and roadsters, and custom vehicles that lk like rockets or spaceships, with names such as Disturbing Da Peace or Lsenuts Special. Theyll wait for hours in line under the brutal sun just to get a chance to zm across the flats, hoping to see if their latest modifications help them beat their previous records or go fast enough to earn a spot in the 200 mph Club.While the racers are glad to be back at Speed Week, which runs through Friday, its a bittersweet return after a two-year hiatus marked by disappointments and accusations that federal land managers have failed to protect the unique area.U.S. officials partly blame heavy rains and say theyre trying to preserve the salt by requiring a nearby mining company to pump brine onto the flats each year.Wet weather and rough salt scuttled the major races in 2014 and 2015, and organizers say they no longer find enough smth salt to set up raceways of 10 miles or more to give many vehicles enough rm to hit top speeds and safely slow down.This year, organizers with the Southern California Timing Association found enough dry, relatively smth salt to eke out three racetracks for Speed Week, the largest of several annual races at the flats.Racers say that while theyre grateful weather has been favorable and theyre whipping across the salt again, they pointed out the less-than-pristine conditions.It lks thinner to me, said Ben York, a driver from Roseville, California, who has been coming to the flats since 2009. His team was trying to break a 334 mph record with their vehicle the Adrenaline Rush, an elongated racecar style known as a Lakester.York said that when the salt is flat, its very gd, but this year it feels bumpy and coarse.Compared to past years, its spotty at best, said Dallas Volk of Bountiful, Utah, whose family has been racing at Bonneville for nearly six decades.Volk, 49, who first came to the races as a toddler, was selling T-shirts and other gear out of a trailer to support the Save the Salt organization, one of several racing groups calling for federal land managers to keep the salt from depleting and lobbying members of Congress to step in.You can definitely tell its not the same salt it was five or six years ago, Volk said.His father, Larry Volk, pulled out a pickax and struck it into the salt, revealing a layer of mud about an inch below, creating a speedway thats less hard and fast than it used to be. He said that when he started racing in 1958, they could find 14 miles of speedway where the salt top was 7 or 8 inches thick.Thats what wed like to see it get back to, he said.Monsn storms are partly to blame for the cancellations, but its unclear exactly why there appears to be a smaller, thinner expanse of smth salt.The racing community says nearby potash mining is draining a salty aquifer that helps replenish the flats each year.The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the flats, said it requires the mining company to pump several hundred thousand tons of brine onto the flats every winter so that when the area begins to bake under the summer sun, the water evaporates and the salt crust thickens.Racers want to see much more brine pumped on the flats every year and are working with Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart on legislation to restore the area. His office said its still drafting the legislation and would not offer details.Larry Volk said congressional action is a last-ditch effort to try to preserve the area for decades of future racing.Though conditions are pr this year, Volk said the speed demons are still glad to be back.Were racers, OK? he said. Give us anything and well try to race on it. Vapormax 97 Pas Cher . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Vapormax Plus Pas Cher Chine . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rkies. http://www.vapormaxpascher.be/ . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Vapormax 2019 Femme Pas Cher . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. Vapormax Homme Solde . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Second-half goals from midfielder Chelsea Drennan and forward Sophie Groff lifted No. 8 South Carolina womens soccer to a 3-1 victory over LSU Thursday night at Stone Stadium. The pair of seniors helped the Gamecocks move their winning streak to nine matches and remain unbeaten (9-0-1, 3-0-0 SEC) on the season. The Tigers, who entered the game with wins in five of their last six contests, fell to 6-5-0 overall and 1-2-0 in league play.Drennan and Groffs goals came 72 seconds apart from one other and gave South Carolina a 3-1 lead late in the match. In the 74th minute, Groff slipped a beautiful through ball into the left side of the box to Drennan, who tk a few touches before threading the ball into the net past LSU goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier. Less than two minutes later, junior forward Savannah McCaskill charged into the box, where she taken down by a Tiger defender. Groff converted the ensuing penalty kick with ease, as the Grapevine, Texas, native slotted the ball into the left side of the net to push Carolinas advantage to two.McCaskill opened the scoring on Thursday with a great strike from well outside the box in the 10th minute. The Gamecocks struck on the counter attack after the forward found some space in the attacking third and ripped a shot into the left corner of the goal to make it 1-0. McCaskills 10 goals this season lead the SEC and equal her scoring output from a year ago.The Tigers equaliized in the 26th minute when LSU forward Summer Clarke gathered a pass in the midfield and made move to free herself from the Gamecock defense.dddddddddddd. Clarke raced into the box and beat South Carolina freshman goalkeeper Mikayla Krzeczowski one-on-one to bring the Tigers even with just under 20 minutes left in the first half.LSUs first-half tally was its only quality scoring chance of the night, as the Gamecocks finished the match with a 20-4 shot advantage. Carolina held the Tigers to just three shots on frame and boasted a 7-1 edge in corner kicks.Minutes after McCaskill put the Gamecocks on the board, Drennan nearly headed home a goal directly in front of net. South Carolina saw another scoring opportunity in the 13th minute when midfielder Lindsey Lane fed the ball to Groff, whose shot from inside the box was saved after Brockmeier came off her line. The Gamecocks best chance out of the break came in the 63rd minute when McCaskills cross from the right side fell to the feet of senior attacker Daija Griffin. Griffin poked a shot that was turned away by Brockmeier at the last second.Krzeczowski totaled two saves to move to 6-0-1 following the victory, while Brockmeier stopped eight shots and fell to 6-5-0 on the season. With the win, South Carolina moved to 11-2-6 all-time against the Tigers. ' ' '