Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash

The Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, widely known simply as the Cannonball Baker or Cannonball Run, was an unofficial, if not outlaw, automobile race run four times in the 1970s from New York City and Darien, CT, on the US Atlantic (east) coast, to Redondo Beach, a Los Angeles suburb on the Pacific. Conceived by car magazine writer and auto racer Brock Yates and fellow "Car and Driver" editor Steve Smith in 1971, the run was not a real competitive race with high risks, but intended both as a celebration of the United States Interstate Highway System and a protest against strict traffic laws coming into effect at the time.

As it was found out, the newly imposed 55 mph speed limit was actually slower than the quickest average speeds of point-to-point travels of Erwin George "Cannon Ball" Baker in the first half of the 20th century. In 1933, Baker drove coast to coast in a Graham-Paige model 57 Blue Streak 8, averaging greater than 50 mph, setting a 53 hour 30 minute record that stood for nearly 40 years. If this could be done by a single man driving on bad roads and through villages, a team of two or more experienced (and even professional race) drivers, driving a modern car on safer and wider intersection-free highways that bypass towns, should be able to do it quicker without taking unacceptable risks apart from getting a speeding ticket, by cruising at 90 to 100 mph.

Another motivation was the fun involved, which showed in the tongue-in-cheek reports in "Car and Driver" and other auto publications worldwide.

The initial cross-country run was accomplished by Yates's son Brock Jr., Smith, and friend Jim Williams beginning on May 3, 1971. The first running was done in a 1971 Dodge Custom Sportsman van, called the "Moon Trash II". The race was run four more times, on November 15, 1971; November 13, 1972; April 23, 1975; and April 1, 1979. The most remarkable effort certainly was by American racing legend and winner of the 1967 24 hours of Le Mans, Dan Gurney, winning the second run in a Ferrari Daytona. Dan himself put it best, saying: "At no time did we exceed 175 mph." With Brock Yates as co-driver, it took them 35 hours and 54 minutes to travel 2863 miles at an average of approximately 80 mph, while collecting one fine. Snow in the Rockies slowed them down considerably. The record for official Cannonballs is 32 hours and 51 minutes (about 87 mph), set in the final run by Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough in a Jaguar XJS in April 1979.

After the original Cannonball races were halted, "Car and Driver" began to sponsor a legitimate closed-course tour, the One Lap of America. Outlaw successors in the United States, Europe, and Australia continue to use the Cannonball name without Yates' approval.

The Race

The object of the Cannonball Baker was to leave the Red Ball Garage on East 31st Street in New York City, later a venue in Darien, CT, (the now defunct Lock, Stock, and Barrel restaurant) usually after midnight, and drive to the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach, California in the shortest time possible. Those were the only rules. Nothing was specified as to the route, type of vehicle, or maximum speed permitted. (There was a gentlemen's agreement that the vehicle entered would be driven the entire distance - no having it transported on another vehicle, having an identical second vehicle stashed away, etc.) Speeding citations received along the way were the driver's responsibility and did not disqualify the vehicle (although having to stop to receive a ticket increased the vehicle's overall time).

The Cannonball Run was technically a race in that the fastest time was declared the "winner" and the results were announced in order of time, but times were not taken very seriously. And it was found that sheer speed frequently did not guarantee a first place finish.

Inspiration

The runs were inspired also from movies like the 1971 film "Two-Lane Blacktop". A similar film, "Vanishing Point", was released in theaters a few months before the first Cannonball.

The Cannonball runs gained notoriety after the 1972 run, but it was "Time" Magazine's May 5, 1975 story on the race that solidified it in the public consciousness. To the surprise of many, the hilarious reports in "Car and Driver" were warmly received by the press and the public alike, rather than being condemned for being reckless.

Reportedly, the worst "accident" that occurred in all of the Cannonball runs was spilled lasagna aboard a motor home which made the trip in 57 hours, as "Car and Driver" Magazine detailed the November 1971 running in their March 1972 issue. That article was reprinted in its entirety in 2005, being chosen to represent the decade of the 1970s in the magazine's 50th anniversary series of article reprints.

However, in his memoir book about the races (see References, below), Yates reports that in the 1972 event, an all-female team consisting of Peggy Niemcek, Judy Stropus, and SCCA racer Donna Mae Mims ("The Pink Lady") suffered a crash near El Paso, Texas, resulting in a DNF (Did Not Finish.) The book contains a first-hand account by Mims, stating that their Cadillac stretched limousine veered off the road and rolled over after the driver fell asleep at the wheel. Although the car was totalled and Mims suffered a broken arm, no other vehicles were involved in the crash, and this was the only serious accident in all the Cannonball races.

Yates began working on a screenplay, originally to be titled "Coast to Coast", but was scooped by two unofficial films in 1976, "Cannonball" and "The Gumball Rally". Eventually, an official Cannonball Run movie was made — "Cannonball Run" — and two sequels, "Cannonball Run II" and "Speed Zone!", followed. A later USA Network television program, "Cannonball Run 2001", was given official approval to use the name.

US Express

After the last Cannonball, Rick Doherty, a veteran of the 1979 and 1975 races, organized a successor, the U.S. Express. Doherty won the first U.S. Express with co-driver and famous game designer, Will Wright [ [http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels/news/2007/10/will_wright "Sims Designer Had the Wright Stuff for Street Racing Way Back When"] , "Wired.com"] , at the wheel of a Mazda RX-7. Their time was 33 hours, 9 minutes. The U.S. Express ran to the Beach in Santa Monica, making it longer than the Cannonball. Despite the increased length, the fastest time recorded was 32 hours 7 minutes, in the 1983 race, 44 minutes faster than the fastest Cannonball, and the "official" cross-country record until it was broken in 2006. 1983 was the last year of the U.S. Express.

Legacy

Nearly thirty years after the last official Cannonball, the issues raised, and the possibility of a full or partial revival, are still of interest to some motorists. Yates, in his book, recalled declining offers ever since the last race to revive the concept, and gave a number of reasons it was unworkable, including increased police activity, increased legal liabilities on the part of any organizer, increased year-round traffic and expanding urban areas – as well as warning of the obvious dangers of a race on public roads. [Yates, Brock; Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race; Motorbooks International, 2002] The Gumball 3000 gained publicity in the early 2000s as a similar event, held generally in Europe but in 2002 and 03 in America, but paced over several times as long and with no time-based winner. As reported in the New York Times on October 172007, the current unofficial record is 31 hours and 4 minutes, set by Alexander Roy and David Maher in 2006.cite news
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/sports/othersports/17speed.html
title=Tale of Outlaw Racing, With the U.S. as a Course|author=David Shaftel
date=October 17, 2007
publisher=The New York Times
accessdate=2007-10-21]

The 2008 documentary [http://www.32hours7minutes.com 32 Hours 7 Minutes] documents the 1983 and 2006 record-setting runs.

Results

+ indicates winners
* indicates overall record

References

*cite book|title=Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race|author=Brock Yates|year=2003|publisher=Motorbooks International|id=ISBN 0-7603-1633-3

External links

* [http://www.allamericanracers.com/cannonball.html "Gurney/Yates Cop First Cannonball"] , Brad Niemcek on the 1971 race
* [http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/showpost.php?p=2577560 Several magazine articles] about the 1979 event by Gero Hoschek (who finished 31st in a Jensen Interceptor), Eoin Young, and other well-known auto writers