Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial

Trophy Dash
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The Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, widely known
as the Cannonball Baker or Cannonball Run, was an unofficial, unsanctioned
automobile race run five times in the 1970s from New York City and Darien,
Connecticut, on the East Coast of the United States to the Portofino Inn [1] in the Los
Angeles suburb of Redondo Beach, California. The Cannonball Run races have
additionally inspired numerous contemporary efforts by independent teams to set the
record time for the route, known as the Cannonball Run Challenge.
Conceived by car magazine writer and auto racer Brock Yates and fellow Car and
Driver editor Steve Smith, the first run was not a competitive race as only one team was
running. The run was intended both as a celebration of the United States Interstate
Highway System and as a protest against strict traffic laws coming into effect at the
time. 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 made by Yates; his son, Brock Yates, Jr.; Steve Smith; and friend Jim
Williams beginning on May 3, 1971, in a 1971 Dodge Custom Sportsman van called the
"Moon Trash II."[2]
The race was run four more times: November 15, 1971; [3] November 13, 1972;[4] April 23,
1975;[5] and April 1, 1979.[6]
Car and Driver magazine detailed the November 1971 running in its March 1972 issue.
[7]
 That article was reprinted to represent the 1970s on the magazine's 50th anniversary
in 2005. A remarkable effort was made by American racing legend Dan Gurney, winner
of the 1967 24 hours of Le Mans. He won the second Cannonball in a Sunoco
blue Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona. Gurney said, "At no time did we exceed
175 mph [280 km/h]." He and Brock Yates as co-driver took 35 hours 54 minutes to
travel 2,863 miles (4,608 km) at an average of approximately 80 mph (130 km/h) while
collecting one fine. Snow in the Rocky Mountains slowed them down considerably. [8][7][9]
In 1972 the team of Steve "Yogi" Behr, Bill Canfield, and Fred Olds won in a Cadillac
Coupe de Ville, the first American car to win a Cannonball.[10]
On April 23–25, 1975, Jack May and Rick Cline drove a Dino 246 GTS from the Red
Ball Garage in New York City[11] in a record time of 35 hours 53 minutes, averaging
83 mph (134 km/h).[5][12][13]
The record for official Cannonballs is 32 hours 51 minutes (about 87 mph or 140 km/h),
set in the final run from Darien, Connecticut, to Los Angeles by Dave Heinz and Dave
Yarborough in a Jaguar XJ-S in April 1979.[6][14]
After the original Cannonball races, Car and Driver sponsored legitimate closed-course
tours, the One Lap of America. Outlaw successors in the United States, Europe, and
Australia continue to use the Cannonball name without Yates' approval. [citation needed]
 Contents

The race[edit]
The object of the Cannonball was to leave the Red Ball Garage on East 31st Street
in Manhattan, New York City (1979: Darien, Connecticut, at now-defunct Lock, Stock,
and Barrel restaurant, Goodwives Shopping Center [15]), typically after midnight, and drive
to the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach, California, in the shortest time possible. Those
were the only rules.[16]
Nothing was specified as to the route, type of vehicle, number of drivers or crew, or
maximum speed permitted. There was a gentlemen's agreement that the vehicle
entered would be driven the entire distance (not transported on another vehicle, not
abandoned for an identical second vehicle hidden near the finish, etc.) Speeding
citations received along the way were the driver's responsibility and did not disqualify
the vehicle, although stopping to receive a ticket increased the vehicle's overall time.
The Cannonball Run was technically a race in that the team with the fastest time was
declared the "winner" and the results were announced in order of time. However, times
were not taken very seriously, and sheer speed did not guarantee a first-place finish. [17]

Inspiration[edit]
The Cannonball Run gained notoriety after the 1972 run, but the Time story on the 1975
Jack May-Rick Cline race solidified its place in the public consciousness. [18] To the
surprise of many, the hilarious reports in Car and Driver were warmly received by press
and public alike rather than condemned for the race's recklessness.
In his Cannonball! memoir, Yates reports that in 1972 an all-female team 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). Mims explains that
their Cadillac stretch limousine veered off the road and rolled over after the driver fell
asleep at the wheel. Although the car was destroyed and she suffered a broken arm, no
other vehicles were involved in the crash. This was the only serious accident in the
official Cannonball races.[19]
Yates began working on a screenplay to be entitled Coast to Coast but was scooped by
two "unofficial" films in 1976, Cannonball[20] and The Gumball Rally.[21] Eventually, an
"official" Cannonball Run film was made, The Cannonball Run starring Burt
Reynolds, Roger Moore and Dom DeLuise with Yates in a cameo appearance.[22] Two
sequels, Cannonball Run II[23] and Speed Zone, also known as Cannonball Fever,
[24]
 followed. A later USA Network television program, Cannonball Run 2001, was given
official approval to use the name.

U.S. Express[edit]
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After the last Cannonball, Rick Doherty, a veteran of the 1975 and 1979 races,
organized a successor, the U.S. Express (1980–1983). [25] The 1980 U.S. Express ran
from Brooklyn, New York, to the beach in Santa Monica. Doherty won the first U.S.
Express with co-driver and famous game designer Will Wright at the wheel of a Mazda
RX-7. Their time was 33 hours 9 minutes.[26]
In 1981 the U.S. Express ran from Long Island, New York, to Emeryville, California,
which borders Oakland at the east end of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay
Bridge). Interstate 80 was largely the route of choice. The winning team in 1981 was the
first-time Express team of David Morse and Steve Clausman driving Morse's
gray Porsche 928. One unique road hazard in the 1981 run was an early snowfall that
closed the Donner Pass for several hours to vehicles without chains just as the U.S.
Express cars approached. The Porsche 928, which carried special plastic chains, was
able to proceed. Others had to wait for the pass to open. [27] The Morse-Clausman team
competed again the next two years. In 1982 (also to Emeryville), they endured several
memorable police stops. In the final U.S. Express in 1983 to Newport Beach, California,
they placed second.[citation needed]
Although longer than the Cannonball, the fastest time recorded for the U.S. Express
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 by Alex Roy and David
Maher in 31 hours 4 minutes.[28][29]

Legacy[edit]
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message)

Decades after the last official Cannonball in 1979, issues raised and revival possibilities
interested some motorists. Yates recalled declining offers to revive the concept because
it was unworkable. His reasons included: increased police activity, increased legal
liabilities for any organizer, increased year-round traffic, and expanding urban areas. He
also warned of the obvious dangers of a race on public roads. [30]
The Gumball 3000 gained publicity in the early 2000s as a similar event, sometimes
held on coast-to-coast U.S. routes, but paced over a route several times as long and
with no time-based winner.
The unofficial transcontinental record, known as the Cannonball Run Challenge, has
been broken numerous times since the last official Cannonball Trophy Dash.
Post-US Express Events[edit]
C2C Express Event[edit]
The C2C Express was an organized event that was created by Ben Wilson of New
Zealand and Eric Propst of Michigan. The event was intended to be limited to pre 1980
automobiles that cost under $3000. This was intended to keep the cost affordable and
In the spirit of the original runs of the 1970s. The event spanned from 2015–2019. The
run Ran from the traditional Cannonball Route of Redball Garage in Manhattan to The
Portofino Inn at Redondo beach California. The original event only had 3 competitors in
which Wilson won in his Cadillac with a time of just under 40 hours. Over the next 3
years the event grew to the point that the final coast to coast run planned ballooned to
over 40 entrants. The size of the event gave Wilson and Propst the idea to run their final
coast to coast event from Darien, Connecticut to Portofino Inn located in Los Angeles.
Darien to Portofino was the same route run as the 1979 Cannonball and became a 40-
year anniversary tribute to the event. Over 40 teams registered for the event, 33
competed and 24 finished. Amongst the final event was a team of police officers in a 49
Pontiac, an ambulance driven by John Ficarra, a Lexus driven by record holder Ed
Bolian, a vintage Monte Carlo piloted by current record holders Doug Tabbut & Arne
Toman. Wilson and Propst both competed as well, Wilson drove a Ford Van and Propst
a Crown Victoria. The winning time was 31:47.
On September 15, 2019, the Cannonball route event record of 32:05 set by Ed Bolian in
2015, was broken during the 2019 running of the C2C Express. Fred Ashmore Jr of
Hancock, Maine, and Travis Hilton of College Station, Texas with Arthur Ashmore of
Lamoine, Maine, set a new Cannonball Route event record of 31:47. Using the longer
1979 Cannonball Route, (from Darien to the Portofino Marina) the team was able to
cover the 2872 miles in their period-accurate, minimally equipped 1979 Mustang. This
made them the second team to ever eclipse the 32:07 benchmark on the Cannonball
route in an event over 36 years.[31]
Michael A. Preston Four Ball Rally 1981-1984
The Four Ball Rally was a quasi-legal race from Boston to San Diego. It was run from
1981 to 1984, and stands as the last of the true competitive cross-continent road races
held in the twentieth century. The rally's official name was the Michael A. Preston
Memorial Four Ball Rally(FBR) in commemoration of its founder, who died prior to the
first event. The FBR was conceived to be the longest practical distance race between
two major cities in the continental United States. The rally had multiple route options
determined real time by the driving teams and generally exceed 3100 miles. On
average the race was 250 to 300 miles longer than the Original Sea to Shining sea
rallies of the 1970s. Up to 50 entries, including international teams, were selected to
participate. The event was "invitation only", and generally was restricted to professional
drivers and others with documented driving experience. [32]
On June 3, 1984, the team of Edward M. Rahill, of Barrington Ill. and Timothy
Montgomery, of Fremont OH. driving a performance and range enhanced Pontiac Trans
Am, won the race in a record time of 35:46, despite several hours of delays due to two
arrests and mechanical issues during the race. This time still stands today as the fastest
documented time for a race crossing the continental United States between Boston and
San Diego. A significant point reference was that Rahill and Montgomery were believed
to be out of the race after their two arrests and mechanical breakdown in Illinois. Race
records indicated the team were able to reach an average speed between St. Louis to
San Diego, including stops, exceeding 104 miles an hour.
An interesting development coming out of the race was the near celebrity status of Ohio
State Trooper Sargent Roger Teague who apprehended four participants including
Rahill and Montgomery, the eventual winners of the event. Sargent Teague was
awarded the 1984 Super Trooper Award by the FBR races sponsors and attended the
winner’s banquet with his wife to receive his recognition.
The 1984 Four Ball Rally received coverage from National and International News
sources such the AP,UPI, New York Times, Chicago Sun Times, Paul Harvey’s June 5,
1984 broadcast and 73 other newspaper organizations on June 4 and 5. The level of
police enforcement was so intense, of the twenty seven cars that had planned to leave
Boston that day, only eleven were to finish. The New York State Police alone arrested
seven participants. The level of coordinated national police effort to stop the race was
unprecedented in American history and led to its discontinuation as the increase in
national publicity and added attention from law enforcement made running the event
untenable.[33]