How Fast Can She Go?, "LandSpeed" Louise Noeth

On the famed Bonneville Salt Flats, record holders must first earn the right to present themselves on the starting line by passing rigorous safety checks. Gender is inconsequential. For decades more than 300 women have set land speed racing records while wearing a seemingly “cloak of invisibility" over their fireproof clothing and helmets. Dozens have set land speed records in excess of 200, 300, 400 and 500 miles per hour. Many are also skilled fabricators, mechanics, and crew chiefs, all vying for glory on a brutal, merciless, and barren sodium-soaked playa. Louise Ann Noeth, aka “Landspeed Louise,” founded LandSpeed Productions in California offering creative writing, photography, design, and public relations in 1984. She authored the leading historical reference book, Bonneville Salt Flats, in print for 11 years through seven printings and consults for the film and television industries on extreme speed. In July 2021, she released Bonneville’s Women of Land Speed Racing, an inspiring work heralding the speed records of women.

Ms. Noeth’s award-winning writing and photographic work has been published in several languages around the world including The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Car and Driver, Automobile, Motor Trend, and Smithsonian, among others. For 12 years her nationally distributed column, Fuel For Thought, gave readers an insider's view of speed. She is a licensed airplane pilot, blue water sailor, and joyfully sings first tenor with sacred music choirs. Highly skilled behind the wheel of any car, truck, or motorcycle, she derives great pleasure from driving in excess of 100 miles per hour whenever possible. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx