I've always thought the Cannonball Run is one of the baddest, albeit craziest, car races on earth. I'm not one for race tracks; always thought the rally races or Baja as the epitome of racing. Anyway, here's an interesting article about three guys who just finished the Cannonball Run in less than 29 hours. Essentially, they went from Manhattan to LA in that amount of time, faster than anyone else. Here's the article: Meet The Guy Who Drove Across The U.S. In A Record 28 Hours 50 Minutes . Would I ever do it? Hell no, no interest on my end whatsoever. Nonetheless, it speaks to these guys' passion (and irrationality) to risk arrest or physical harm to break this record, especially when so many variables can come into play across the United States. Crazy ass race, but quite a feat nonetheless.
Coast to Coast in under 29 hours by car!
- Thread starter ZLBubba
- Start date
I will defer to Jack Baruth's take on the matter:
Does the Cross-Country Record Matter Anymore - Web Originals - Road & Track
Before anyone gets too huffy, keep in mind that Baruth is the same person who authored the "Maximum Street Speed" series at TTAC. So when a guy who wrote a four-part series of articles focused, in part, on the goal of "maintaining a consistent pace of twice the pack speed or higher" thinks that someone is being stupid, then that person is probably being fiercely stupid.
Does the Cross-Country Record Matter Anymore - Web Originals - Road & Track
Before anyone gets too huffy, keep in mind that Baruth is the same person who authored the "Maximum Street Speed" series at TTAC. So when a guy who wrote a four-part series of articles focused, in part, on the goal of "maintaining a consistent pace of twice the pack speed or higher" thinks that someone is being stupid, then that person is probably being fiercely stupid.
Buzzkill.....
Nah seriously though, Baruth raises some good points, the most valid of which is putting people's lives in danger by driving so fast for so long. I'd assume that the drivers have some sort of risk mitigation plan, most likely to keep them away from traffic since that would simply slow them down, not so much for the safe side of it. Baruth was a bit glib about the bedpans thing, but I wouldn't expect Road and Track to endorse any activity like this for legal reasons.
Still, you're not the slightest bit wowed by that distance in that short amount of time? And not getting pulled (or arrested) once? Pretty crazy to me.
Oh, I'm really damn impressed by the technical details of the feat - the guy managed trip speed average of 98 MPH, which is crazy even before considering that this includes every stop and slowdown encountered in 3000+ miles. I've done my fair share of cross-country driving (both here and in Germany), and while insane peak speeds can be achieved by any yahoo with horsepower and disregard for their license, it's another thing altogether to do it for hours on end. Eventually, traffic, law enforcement, biology, and fuel consumption all conspire to drag down average speeds. I've managed similar average speeds for 5-6 hours, and it's a very fatiguing experience; no way in hell I'd be able to pull it off for a day-plus.
I think where Baruth's bring-down comes from is that there was very little glamor in what was accomplished (not only were the car and driver lacking in noteworthiness, but their technique was more a matter of logistics than pure driving skill), and furthermore the participants needlessly endangered public safety by doing it in a vehicle that almost certainly wouldn't pass the most basic of tech inspection at any local dragstrip. To me, it's really the latter aspect that is the most egregious offense; I may not have any style myself, but I generally have a clue to to the proper modification of a vehicle designed for street use.
I think where Baruth's bring-down comes from is that there was very little glamor in what was accomplished (not only were the car and driver lacking in noteworthiness, but their technique was more a matter of logistics than pure driving skill), and furthermore the participants needlessly endangered public safety by doing it in a vehicle that almost certainly wouldn't pass the most basic of tech inspection at any local dragstrip. To me, it's really the latter aspect that is the most egregious offense; I may not have any style myself, but I generally have a clue to to the proper modification of a vehicle designed for street use.
I like long distance events, Cannonball type events. They are dangerous, I've done them of a sort on motorcycles. Don't do them anymore. They are dangerous. One event I was in had two deaths and many many hospitalized, some in a very bad way (participants), never had anyone (nonparticipants) get hurt in 5 events though. I don't call it racing, that's illegal.
True, as a matter of style, this latest record break did lack the flair of yesteryear. Didn't Richard Rawlings do it in a Ferrari? I'd definitely give them the nod for style points. I think they bought one of the other Cannonball cars for $4k or something, the Heinz/Yarborough Jaguar. Shit, I'd never even attempt something like this, WAY too risk averse and too poor to pay the lawyers' fees.
On an interesting note, they did it on the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Lincoln Highway, the first recognized coast to coast highway running from NY to San Fran. When it opened it took a month to drive.
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