Cannonball Run Challenge


The Cannonball Run is an unsanctioned speed record from New York City's Red Ball Garage to the Portofino Hotel in Los Angeles, a distance of about. The current record is 25 hours 55 minutes, with a top speed of 159 mph and a average speed of 108 mph, driven by Fred Ashmore.

History

The challenge was popularized in the 1981 film The Cannonball Run and its 1984 sequel. The challenge's name is derived from Erwin "Cannon Ball" Baker who set more than 140 driving records from the 1910s through 1930s. It was revived in the 1970s by automotive writer Brock Yates as the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash.

Format

The traditional start point is the Red Ball Garage on East 31st Street, Manhattan, and its finish is at the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach, California, a distance of a little over, depending on the route. A second starting point emerged for the 1979 running at the Goodwives Shopping Center in Darien, Connecticut. The route from this point is said to be approximately 48 miles further than the Red Ball Garage starting point. Since the record is unsanctioned, there are no official limits imposed on cars, routes, technologies, or strategies used in record runs. Record-setting runs are typically self-verified by record-setters through witnesses, toll receipts, continuous video of the run, and GPS tracking. Contemporary record-setting runs are typically driven by a team of drivers and copilots in a high-performance, but unsuspecting car. Cars are commonly modified with auxiliary fuel tanks to extend range, and are frequently modified to increase performance and durability. Cars are also commonly modified to help evade police, using equipment such as police radio, radar and laser detectors and/or jamming, and cosmetic alterations that obscure the car's identity. Several attempts have also implemented police-spotting teams traveling ahead of the record-run in cars or even general-aviation aircraft.

Legality and Ethics

Speeding above the limit by large margins as required in setting Cannonball Run records would typically draw maximum penalties for speeding and reckless driving, but the classification of severity for these offenses widely varies from state to state. In the majority of states traversed by Cannonball runs, reckless driving is typically classified as a high misdemeanor, penalized by large fines, license suspension, and jail time under a year. The only exception to this is Nevada, where reckless driving can be classified as high as a class B felony punishable by jail time ranging 1-6 years.
Record attempts are criticized for their illegality and disregard for public safety, but nonetheless draw significant press coverage whenever a record is broken. Some pundits point to a dedicated spotter looking for traffic and obstacles such as deer, saying "Safety is paramount for a number of reasons. First we would never want to endanger anyone or ourselves."

Recent records

Current record

As reported by Road & Track, Fred Ashmore, a participant of previous C2C Express runs, completed a solo run in 25 hours and 55 minutes. Ashmore, driving a rental Ford Mustang, replaced the seats and interior of the vehicle with fuel tanks capable of holding approximately 150 gallons of gasoline, which allowed him to make only one fuel stop. With a moving average of 109 miles per hour, Ashmore recorded his journey on the GPS app Glympse as opposed to using dedicated tracking software like previous recordholders.

Previous Transcontinental Records

The previous record holders remain anonymous, and traveled from the Red Ball Garage on the east side of Manhattan to the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach, California, a total of in 26 hours 38 minutes in April 2020. The team averaged. The record was completed in a 2019 Audi A8L with additional fuel tanks in the rear storage. The record was set during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking advantage of a reduction in both road users and law enforcement presence.
In November 2019, the driving team of Arne Toman, Doug Tabbutt, and Berkeley Chadwick set a transcontinental record of in 27 hours 25 minutes. The team averaged and reached a top speed of on the trip covering 13 states. The 2015 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG was modified to provide 800 horsepower and fitted with an additional fuel cell in the trunk providing enabling the team to stop just four times for fuel for a total of just over 22 minutes. The car was also equipped with police scanner, CB radio, a thermal camera to help the team spot police on the ground and in the air as well as a laser jammer. The team chose early November ahead of Thanksgiving travel traffic and chose a route based on weather forecasts which provided dry weather through the entire trip. The vehicle was disguised to appear more like a common Honda or Volkswagen sedan. The team was also assisted by 18 lookouts who scouted the road beforehand to warn of police or hazards.
In October 2013, a team led by Ed Bolian with Dave Black and Dan Huang set a transcontinental record of 28 hours 50 minutes in a modified 2004 Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG, averaging 98 mph with highest speed of up to 182 mph. Bolian and Black shared driving with Bolian serving as the primary driver while Huang served as spotter watching for police and obstructions such as deer or construction using image stabilized binoculars.
In May 2007, Richard Rawlings and co-pilot Dennis Collins allegedly broke the 1979 Cannonball Run time during the 2007 Bullrun entry, driving a black Ferrari 550, modified with extra fuel tanks. Their final time was 31 hours and 59 minutes. However there is much debate on the legitimacy of this time as the distance and times do not match up. It is unlikely that they actually broke the record.
On October 7–9, 2006, Alex Roy, Dave Maher and filmmaker Cory Welles set a transcontinental record of 31 hours 4 minutes from the to Santa Monica Pier using a modified 2000 BMW M5, averaging 90 mph with a top speed of 157 mph. A spotter plane was deployed for the daytime sections. This and the U.S. Express are depicted in the 2019 documentary .

Diesel Record

On April 4, 2020 the 3 man team consisting of Sean G. Petr, Jason Adkins, and Mark Spence piloted a 2014 Volkswagen Passat TDI SE from Goodwives Shopping Center in Darien, Connecticut to the Portofino Hotel and Marina in Redondo Beach, California in 28 hours and 30 minutes beating both the previous diesel record and Darien-Redondo time by more than 3 hours. The team averaged both 25.5 mpg and 100.07 mph over the 2,852 mile journey.

Motorcycle records

Motorcycle between New York and Los Angeles 1917 to Present:
  1. Alan T Bedell drove a Henderson 4 cylinder motorcycle from LA to NYC in 7 days, 16 hours, and 16 minutes on June 13, 1917.
  2. Erwin "Cannonball" Baker drove his Ace motorcycle from LA to NYC in 6 days, 22 hours, 52 minutes in 1922.
  3. Wells Bennet rode an Excelsior/Henderson in 1922 to cross NYC to LA in 6 days, 16 hours, 13 minutes.
  4. Earl Robinson in 1935 did the run in 3 days, 6 hours, 53 minutes.
  5. Rody Rodenberg set his record of 71 hours 20 minutes during June 17–20, 1936, on a 1936 Indian Scout. This was disputed by Dot Robinson.
  6. John Penton set a time of 52 hours 11 minutes for the solo LA-to-NYC motorcycle run in 1959. The trek was made on a BMW R69S.
  7. Tibor Sarossy, at the time a college student, set a record in 1968 of 45 hours 41 minutes. Tibor used a homemade fuel cell made of jerry cans, which allowed for a reported four fuel stops. He also claims he never slept, although he did pass out from a diet of Hershey Bars and coffee at a produce inspection station in California. He averaged 58.7 mph on a BMW R69S.
  8. Fred Boyajian set a new time of 42 hours 6 minutes on October 11, 1969. Fred used a beer keg to provide extra fuel. Evidence was Western Union telegrams at New York City and Los Angeles.
  9. George Egloff in 1983 set the record of 42 hours, recorded by witnesses participating in the event.
  10. Carl Reese left from West Valley Cycle Sales BMW Dealership in Winnetka, California, at 3:15 a.m. PST on August 28, 2015. Reese arrived at BMW Motorrad dealership in Manhattan, New York City, at 9:04 p.m. EST the next day, traveling 2,829 miles in 38 hours 49 minutes on a K1600GT BMW motorcycle. The trip was documented by notaries at both start and finish.
  11. Adam Frasca posted a time of 37 hours and 7 minutes. Frasca departed Manhattan, NYC at 12:03 AM EDT Tuesday, April 9, 2019 and arrived Redondo Beach, LA at 10:10 AM PDT.
  12. Calvin Cote completed the run in a time of 35 hours 6 minutes, departing the Portofino Hotel and Marina at 3:00 AM PDT April 20, 2019 and arriving at the Red Ball Garage at 5:06 PM EDT April 21, 2019. The 2,772 mile run was completed on a 2012 BMW K1600 GTL equipped with a 15-gallon auxiliary fuel tank, radar detector, and radar/lidar absorbing paint.

    Electric vehicle records

In 1968 the Great Transcontinental Electric Car Race was held between student groups at Caltech and MIT. The Caltech team, led by EV pioneer Wally Rippel, converted a 1958 VW Microbus powered by lead cobalt batteries from Electric Fuel Propulsion Corporation of Detroit. The MIT team converted a 1968 Chevrolet Corvair powered by NiCad batteries. The MIT team raced from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Pasadena, California, while the Caltech team raced the opposite direction. A network of 54 charging locations was set up along the 3,311-mile route, spaced 21 to 95 miles apart. The race began on August 26, 1968, and ended on September 4. Although the MIT team reached Pasadena first, they were towed part of the way. After assessing penalty points, Caltech was declared the winner with a corrected time of 210 hours 3 minutes.
With the introduction of long-range EVs, such as the Tesla Roadster and, in particular, the Tesla Model S, coast-to-coast travel became more feasible. In January 2014, Tesla Motors completed the first coast-to-coast corridor in their supercharging network for the Model S. A team from Tesla Motors completed a 3,427-mile route from Los Angeles to New York City run in 76 hours, 5 minutes. In July 2014, a team from Edmunds completed a slightly shorter 3,331.9-mile route in 67 hours, 21 minutes. The initial cross-country supercharging route was sub-optimal for New York–Los Angeles runs, notably due to the link between Denver and Chicago running through South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin along Interstate 90.
Carl J. Reese and co-drivers Rodney Hawk and Deena Mastracci took advantage of a newly opened corridor on Interstate 70 to drive the 3,011-mile route from the City Hall in Los Angeles to the City Hall in New York City in 58 hours and 55 minutes during April 16–19, 2015, a new record for EVs in a 2015 Tesla Model S P85D. The drivers stopped 24 times for electric charging, with a total charge time of 12 hours 48 minutes. As proof, Reese presented 16 documents notarized on both ends, identifying drivers and three eyewitnesses: Matt Nordenstrom, Johnnie Oberg Jr., and Anthony Alvarado. Complete GPS logs recorded by GPSInsight were sent to Jalopnik, Guinness Book of World Records. GPSInsight provided GPS tracking equipment to the team to verify the event. Reese's team of three drivers broke Tesla Motors' previous record of 76 hours 5 minutes and Edmunds.com's previous record of 67 hours 21 minutes.
On October 18–21, 2015, Deena Mastracci and Reese were joined by Alex Roy. They beat Mastracci and Reese's prior record of 58 hours, 48 minutes for an LA–NYC run in an electric vehicle with a total time of 57 hours, 48 minutes.
On August 24–27, 2016, the LA–NYC record was broken again by a team comprising Alex Roy, CEO Warren Ahner, and StreetWars founder , who completed the run in 55 hours flat in a 2016 Tesla Model S 90D. GPS logs were recorded by US Fleet Tracking, and Comma.AI's Chffr data logger, and data was shared with .
With an early-production Tesla Model 3, which are delivered to California-based customers only, Alex Roy and co-driver Dan Zorrilla broke the eastbound Electric Cannonball Run record again December 28–31 of 2017, driving 2,860 miles from the Portofino Inn to the Red Ball garage in 50 hours and 16 minutes. GPS data was captured using the GPS Tracks application, and video evidence was shared on YouTube. In July 2019 a family team of Robin Jedi Thomsen, and her parents Lars Thomsen and Betty Legler set a record of 48 hours 10 minutes driving westbound for in a Long-Range Rear-Wheel-Drive Tesla Model 3 between 12–14 July 2019. In August 2019, Kyle Conner and Matthew Davis set a record of 45 hours and 16 minutes driving westbound from New York City to Los Angeles in a Long-Range Rear-Wheel-Drive Tesla Model 3 which had been modified, including lowering the car for better aerodynamics.

Semi-autonomous vehicle records

The first coast-to-coast autonomous record was set by employees of Delphi. Delphi engineers covered 3,400 miles, San Francisco to New York City, over a span of nine days.
Carl J. Reese, Deena Mastracci, and Alex Roy set a new coast-to-coast record using Tesla's new Autopilot function. The trio made the 2,995-mile journey in 57 hours, 48 minutes after departing from Redondo Beach, California on October 18, 2015 at 9:15 p.m. PST, and arriving at Red Ball Garage in New York on October 21, 2015 at 10:03 a.m. EST. The trip was completed with fewer than 14 hours of charging and 96 percent of the driving done by Tesla's Autopilot system. This record was a first outside of manufacture testing, proving that automated systems can deliver people coast to coast safely in record time.
As of August 27, 2016, the semi-autonomous driving record stands at 55 hours, set during the electric cross-country record run by Franz Aliquo, Warren Ahner, and Alex Roy in a Tesla Model S 90D, whose "Autopilot" function was engaged 97.7% of the way.

Outright records

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