(Photos by Wes Allison) – If there is one large sign that things are moving back in the right direction with regard to racing and competition, the idea that the SCTA is back to running on the legendary El Mirage dry lake bed is it. As weird as the world has been over the last year, these photos show awesome people, awesome cars, and great moments from last weekend at the SCTA meet on the dirt. As we told you last week, the famed Hot Rod Magazine Special is back in action and it was successful, shattering a record that has stood since the 1980s and it ran like a top all weekend, to boot.

You’ll see cars you recognize from the years of Bonneville coverage we have provided here, some from the coverage of ECTA land speed racing over the years, and loads you have never seen before. There are a contingent of land speed racers who concentrate their competitive efforts at El Mirage. They find the 1.3 mile silt course to be the most challenging environment and therefore you’ll see some really neat cars that trucks that have escaped our lenses at other venues.

Enjoy this first blast of photos from the legendary El Mirage dry lake bed. We were as happy to be there shooting as the racers were to be pushing themselves and their equipment to the limit!

Hit the images below to expand them and scroll through to see them all – cool stuff here!