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

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. The races were named after Erwin Baker.

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]

  1. ^ Now (as of January 2021) called the Portofino Hotel, the building is located at 260 Portofino Way, Redondo Beach, CA 90277, 33°50′43.9″N 118°23′50.1″W / 33.845528°N 118.397250°W / 33.845528; -118.397250
  2. ^ Brock Yates, Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race. Motorbooks International. August 2003. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-7603-1633-7.
  3. ^ Brock Yates, Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race. Motorbooks International. August 2003. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-7603-1633-7.
  4. ^ Brock Yates, Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race. Motorbooks International. August 2003. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-7603-1633-7.
  5. ^ a b Brock Yates, Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race. Motorbooks International. August 2003. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-7603-1633-7.
  6. ^ a b Brock Yates, Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race. Motorbooks International. August 2003. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-7603-1633-7.
  7. ^ a b Yates, Brock (March 1972). "The Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash". Car and Driver. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  8. ^ Brock Yates, Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race. Motorbooks International. August 2003. p. 61. ISBN 0-7603-1090-4.
  9. ^ "Dan Gurney's All American Races". All American Racers. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  10. ^ Brock Yates, Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race. Motorbooks International. August 2003. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-7603-1633-7.
  11. ^ The Red Ball Garage is located at 142 E 31st St, New York, NY 10016, 40°44′38.9″N 73°58′48.9″W / 40.744139°N 73.980250°W / 40.744139; -73.980250
  12. ^ "Modern Living:The Cannonball Dash". Time. Vol. 105, no. 18. 5 May 1975. p. 63. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Three-Thousand Mile Dash". Sports Illustrated: 10. 5 May 1975. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  14. ^ Gregory, Fred M.H. (Nov 2002). "The Last Cannonball". Car and Driver. Retrieved 3 November 2018.