== Explain "land-speed-record-holding open playa" == 

 Section 1997 to present starts: 
 :1997 marked another major pivotal year for the event. By 1996, the land-speed-record-holding open playa had grown to a critical mass with 8,000 attendees and was deemed too dangerous (marked with numerous vehicular incidents) to continue in the same way with unrestricted driving. 
 This comes out of nowhere. What "land-speed-record-holding open playa"? For that matter, what's a playa? And whoever fixes this, please disassemble that too-many-hyphen-containing excessively-multiple noun pile.