He was instrumental in establishing Bonneville as a location for such events, and in attracting overseas drivers such as George Eyston and Sir Malcolm Campbell to compete there.

Jenkins, a home building contractor in Utah who was born in 1883, gained his first taste of racing a Studebaker on the Union Pacific train from Salt Lake City to Wendover in 1925, beating the smoke-belcher by five minutes.

During the summer of 1935, the course was gaining international attention and in July of that year, Jenkins provided accommodations to British driver John Cobb and even relinquished his spot on the flats to him.

The Salt Lake City newspaper Deseret News ran a contest to give the vehicle a name, which ended up being dubbed the "Mormon Meteor".

Due to extensive modifications needed to accommodate the Curtiss engine, it quickly became the Mormon Meteor II and Jenkins broke land speed endurance records with it during 1936–37.

During WWII, the US government ordered a halt to racing activities and Jenkins decided to run for mayor of Salt Lake City, winning handily despite spending no time or money campaigning.

Bonelli attended many of Jenkins record runs and often instigated a song fest with spectators joining the famous baritone as Ab whizzed past.

Jenkins racing fame coupled with his congenial, outgoing nature got him elected Mayor of Salt Lake in 1940 without ever giving a speech, or spending a nickel on a campaign.

After some full day runs, he would hop out clean-shaven, having used a safety razor after the last gas stop while circling the track at over 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) with no windshield.

Ab drove almost two-thirds of the 2,841 miles (4,572 km) himself gulping down milk and orange juice handed to him by his wife or daughter during his 30-second fueling pit stops.

Jenkins was returning from a baseball game with Pontiac executives George Bourke and Robert Emerick on August 9 when he noticed a billboard with a farm tractor on it and started telling the men about his wild ride in 1935 when he suddenly grabbed his chest and passed away from a heart attack.