TOOELE COUNTY -- In Utah the Bureau of Land Management allows about a dozen racing events to take place on federal land. The BLM pretty much allows race organizers to set their own rules, as in California. But after a race in that state turned deadly this weekend, some are worried about the rules -- or lack thereof -- here in Utah.

It's Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Tooele County. It may look like the cars are racing right alongside spectators, but in fact the fans keep their distance.

Race organizers have a boundary: 1,500 feet away from the track.

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8 dead, 12 hurt at off-road race in Calif. desert

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"We have our perimeters that we feel are safe," said Mike Cook with Bonneville Nationals.

Safety patrols roam the straight-line track to make sure enthusiastic fans don't get too close.

"It's not an issue here," Cook said. "They know that these cars are very, very fast."

It was an issue at Saturday's tragic race in California where eight people were killed and 12 injured at an off-road race in the desert. There, spectators were close enough to touch speeding trucks.

Some said the thrill is all about being dangerously close. To some, it's the automotive equivalent of the running of the bulls in Spain. No runner actually believes he's the one who will get gored.

A tower at the Bonneville Salt Flats acts like an air-traffic control center. It serves to make sure racecars don't tangle with other vehicles and spectators stay where they're supposed to be.

"I only know of about two cases where we've had to escort people off the salt, and that's been several years ago," said Salt Flats Safety Controller Glen Barrett.

There's only one place where spectators are allowed to get very close at all: the starting line.

But none of this is by government edict. The BLM allows racing organizations to make the rules, including safety margins.

"It's probably far greater than what is actually necessary, but that's a good thing," said Glenn Carpenter with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. "We like that, and we endorse that."

But that stance by the BLM in California has drawn criticism that the government has allowed a dangerous MadMax atmosphere.

The BLM's West Desert District Manager does plan to review the rules for about a dozen annual racing events. Most are at isolated locations like the Knolls Sand Dunes, far less formal and organized than Speed Week.

"As a manager, whenever you hear of any tragedy like that you have to be prudent enough to look at your own programs and say, 'Hey, are we where we need to be?'" Carpenter said.

But Carpenter expects no big changes because he believes in Utah, safety is on the right track.

Speed Week will continue at the Bonneville Salt Flats, with scheduled events through Friday.

E-mail: hollenhorst@ksl.com

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