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I was shocked when I read this in the paper today! Cliff was a friend of my dads and was always VERY helpful when ever I had questions on Polaris products. We will deeply miss Cliff!
Bozeman native and land speed record holder Cliff Gullett died Wednesday in a 200-mph motorcycle crash on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
Details of the wreck were unclear Thursday, although the 47-year-old racer was traveling earlier in the day at 237 mph, a speed marginally faster than speeds Gullett had successfully reached previously.
Tooele County Sheriff's investigators in Utah said they weren't sure what caused Gullett to lose control of the enclosed, 23-foot-long streamliner, classified as motorcycle because it rode on two wheels.
Fellow racers and relatives of the father of two young children were stunned by the news. Gullett lived in Bozeman, where he owned Team Bozeman Motorsports, a motorcycle and snowmobile dealership.
"It definitely grabs you and chucks you in the backseat for a while," said Oren Harper, a land speed record holder from Billings.
On the Salt Flats, Gullett was a racer others came to for advice about riding and making machines more mechanically sound. In the hours before his death, he was advising a novice racer on how to stiffen up a motorcycle to prevent it from shaking at high speeds, said Doug Gullett, the racer's brother and pit crewman.
The novice had a good ride, as did Cliff Gullett, right up until the end of his time trial. Gullet had posted his time and was on the tail end of a 5-mile run down the track. At that point, he was probably close to decelerating. News reports from nearby Wendover, Utah, suggested that the streamliner flipped over at least once.
Gullett's father, Dennis, of Shepherd, was told the streamliner then broke up.
No funeral arrangements have been made yet, Dennis Gullett said. Cliff Gullett's wife, Leanne, remained in Utah on Thursday. The couple's children, Casey, 10, and Nicole, 15, were in school in Bozeman. A Cliff Gullett memorial fund has been created for the family at First Interstate Bank, care of the Gallatin Center branch in Bozeman.
It doesn't take much to sweep a racer off its wheels at Bonneville, said Gail Tesinsky, of Billings, who races at the Salt Flats with her husband, Ron. At high speeds even a slight wind can send a car off course.
"They shut the course down if there's 15 mph winds," Tesinsky said. "I've been in the car in line and all of a sudden there's a 12 mph wind. And you wait." Tesinsky said it will be a long time before the cause of the wreck is determined. Track managers will investigate the crash in detail and impose whatever rules they can to prevent a future incident.
In an interview with The Gazette last week, Gullett commented about the ongoing technical modifications to make vehicles at the Salt Flats safer. So many changes have been made over the years that old track records have stood for decades as vehicles take on more safety features and weight.
In his 500cc streamliner, Gullett had just set three land speed records, one of which had stood since 1958. That weekend his top average speed from two runs was 230.165 mph, almost 18 mph faster than the previous record.
Gullett's objective was to become the fastest motorcycle in every class en route to becoming the world's first 400 mph two-wheeled streamliner. Several racers thought he would at least come close to his ultimate goal.
Gullett, who had first raced at Bonneville on a conventional motorcycle, had teamed up with Jack Costella, a Californian, known for breaking records with his sleekly designed streamliners.
The two men began breaking a couple land speed records practically every time they raced at Bonneville. Racers that spent a decade or more qualifying for a single record marveled at Gullett and Costella's success and particularly Gullett's drive.
"Cliff was an amazing person," Tesinsky said, though as much as she admired his racing achievements, she also appreciated his attention to family.
Gullett was a attracting a lot of attention racing conventional motorcycles early in his career, Tesinsky said, enough that Costella, a man with more than 35 land speed records, sought him out. Other racers would have given anything to race a Costella machine, but Gullett almost turned the offer down after Costella announced that no children or women would be allowed in his impound.
Gullett's son, Casey, had always been a part of the racer's pit crew. If racing with Costella meant excluding Casey, Gullet was ready to stay small time.
"Cliff put his hand out to Jack and said, ‘It's been nice knowing you, but my family comes first,' " Tesinsky recalled.
There are roughly a dozen Montana racers who make it to the Salt Flats in late summer to travel the smooth, open spaces just east of the Nevada state line. The salt surface develops into a hardpan incredibly level and with traction not unlike a frozen pond. Gullett's racing pit was always a popular place among the racers because he'd do anything to help anyone.
Harper met Gullett while sweltering under the 100-plus degree sun, without shade and a box of tools hot to the touch. Gullett had a shade canopy, tools, anything the young racer needed, which Gullett shared, even though Harper raced Harley-Davidson and Gullett raced Yamaha.
Harper set his land speed record that year going 150 mph on a 124-cubic-inch Harley-Davidson chopper. He had no sponsorship, despite working as a mechanic at a Billings Harley dealership.
When Gullett heard Harper's employer wasn't helping out, he sent Dennis Gullett down the Harley dealership with a cash donation and a Yamaha racing shirt to make a point.
Gullett was just that kind of man, said friend and racer Larry Bohnen. "Just make a point to mention that he was a great husband, a great father and a great guy who was very competitive."
Bozeman native and land speed record holder Cliff Gullett died Wednesday in a 200-mph motorcycle crash on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
Details of the wreck were unclear Thursday, although the 47-year-old racer was traveling earlier in the day at 237 mph, a speed marginally faster than speeds Gullett had successfully reached previously.
Tooele County Sheriff's investigators in Utah said they weren't sure what caused Gullett to lose control of the enclosed, 23-foot-long streamliner, classified as motorcycle because it rode on two wheels.
Fellow racers and relatives of the father of two young children were stunned by the news. Gullett lived in Bozeman, where he owned Team Bozeman Motorsports, a motorcycle and snowmobile dealership.
"It definitely grabs you and chucks you in the backseat for a while," said Oren Harper, a land speed record holder from Billings.
On the Salt Flats, Gullett was a racer others came to for advice about riding and making machines more mechanically sound. In the hours before his death, he was advising a novice racer on how to stiffen up a motorcycle to prevent it from shaking at high speeds, said Doug Gullett, the racer's brother and pit crewman.
The novice had a good ride, as did Cliff Gullett, right up until the end of his time trial. Gullet had posted his time and was on the tail end of a 5-mile run down the track. At that point, he was probably close to decelerating. News reports from nearby Wendover, Utah, suggested that the streamliner flipped over at least once.
Gullett's father, Dennis, of Shepherd, was told the streamliner then broke up.
No funeral arrangements have been made yet, Dennis Gullett said. Cliff Gullett's wife, Leanne, remained in Utah on Thursday. The couple's children, Casey, 10, and Nicole, 15, were in school in Bozeman. A Cliff Gullett memorial fund has been created for the family at First Interstate Bank, care of the Gallatin Center branch in Bozeman.
It doesn't take much to sweep a racer off its wheels at Bonneville, said Gail Tesinsky, of Billings, who races at the Salt Flats with her husband, Ron. At high speeds even a slight wind can send a car off course.
"They shut the course down if there's 15 mph winds," Tesinsky said. "I've been in the car in line and all of a sudden there's a 12 mph wind. And you wait." Tesinsky said it will be a long time before the cause of the wreck is determined. Track managers will investigate the crash in detail and impose whatever rules they can to prevent a future incident.
In an interview with The Gazette last week, Gullett commented about the ongoing technical modifications to make vehicles at the Salt Flats safer. So many changes have been made over the years that old track records have stood for decades as vehicles take on more safety features and weight.
In his 500cc streamliner, Gullett had just set three land speed records, one of which had stood since 1958. That weekend his top average speed from two runs was 230.165 mph, almost 18 mph faster than the previous record.
Gullett's objective was to become the fastest motorcycle in every class en route to becoming the world's first 400 mph two-wheeled streamliner. Several racers thought he would at least come close to his ultimate goal.
Gullett, who had first raced at Bonneville on a conventional motorcycle, had teamed up with Jack Costella, a Californian, known for breaking records with his sleekly designed streamliners.
The two men began breaking a couple land speed records practically every time they raced at Bonneville. Racers that spent a decade or more qualifying for a single record marveled at Gullett and Costella's success and particularly Gullett's drive.
"Cliff was an amazing person," Tesinsky said, though as much as she admired his racing achievements, she also appreciated his attention to family.
Gullett was a attracting a lot of attention racing conventional motorcycles early in his career, Tesinsky said, enough that Costella, a man with more than 35 land speed records, sought him out. Other racers would have given anything to race a Costella machine, but Gullett almost turned the offer down after Costella announced that no children or women would be allowed in his impound.
Gullett's son, Casey, had always been a part of the racer's pit crew. If racing with Costella meant excluding Casey, Gullet was ready to stay small time.
"Cliff put his hand out to Jack and said, ‘It's been nice knowing you, but my family comes first,' " Tesinsky recalled.
There are roughly a dozen Montana racers who make it to the Salt Flats in late summer to travel the smooth, open spaces just east of the Nevada state line. The salt surface develops into a hardpan incredibly level and with traction not unlike a frozen pond. Gullett's racing pit was always a popular place among the racers because he'd do anything to help anyone.
Harper met Gullett while sweltering under the 100-plus degree sun, without shade and a box of tools hot to the touch. Gullett had a shade canopy, tools, anything the young racer needed, which Gullett shared, even though Harper raced Harley-Davidson and Gullett raced Yamaha.
Harper set his land speed record that year going 150 mph on a 124-cubic-inch Harley-Davidson chopper. He had no sponsorship, despite working as a mechanic at a Billings Harley dealership.
When Gullett heard Harper's employer wasn't helping out, he sent Dennis Gullett down the Harley dealership with a cash donation and a Yamaha racing shirt to make a point.
Gullett was just that kind of man, said friend and racer Larry Bohnen. "Just make a point to mention that he was a great husband, a great father and a great guy who was very competitive."
