Cannonball Run challenge


A Cannonball Run is an unsanctioned speed record for driving across the United States, typically accepted to run from New York City's Red Ball Garage to the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach near Los Angeles, covering a distance of about., the overall record is 25 hours 39 minutes, with an average speed of, driven by Arne Toman, Douglas Tabbutt, and Dunadel Daryoush in May 2020.
The average speeds achieved in reported runs are far in excess of speed limits anywhere in the United States. Successful record attempts have employed a variety of tactics for evading traffic law enforcement.

History

The cannonball run began as 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 in the Los Angeles suburb of Redondo Beach, California. These races were called the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash.
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."
The race was run four more times: November 15, 1971; November 13, 1972; April 23, 1975; and April 1, 1979.

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 just 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 farther 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 inconspicuous 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

Record attempts are criticized for their illegality and disregard for public safety. The attempts are not authorized by any law enforcement agency.

List of records

Outright Cannonball 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 Classic Car Club NYC to Santa Monica Pier using a modified 2000 BMW M5, averaging with a top speed of. A spotter plane was deployed for the daytime sections. This and the U.S. Express are depicted in the 2019 documentary APEX: The Secret Race Across America.
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.
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 with top speed of. Black shared driving with Bolian, who served as the primary driver, while Huang served as spotter watching for police and obstructions such as deer or construction using image stabilized binoculars.
In November 2019, the driving team of Arne Toman and Doug Tabbutt, with spotter Berkeley Chadwick, set a transcontinental record of 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 and fitted with an additional fuel tank 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 left early November ahead of Thanksgiving travel traffic and chose a route based on weather forecasts which provided dry weather through the entire trip.

During the COVID-19 pandemic

The record was broken multiple times during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking advantage of a reduction in both road users and law enforcement presence.
In April 2020, a formerly anonymous crew now identified as Chris Allen, James Allen, and Kale Odhner 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. The team averaged in a 2019 Audi A8L with extra fuel tanks in the trunk.
In May 2020, Arne Toman, Doug Tabbutt, and spotter Dunadel Daryoush set the new cannonball record of 25 hours and 39 minutes in a modified 2016 Audi S6 disguised to look like a Ford Police Interceptor Sedan. Police-evasion modifications included brake light kill-switches, radar detectors, laser diffusers, CB radio, and a roof-mounted thermal camera. Performance modifications included a trunk-mounted auxiliary fuel tank taken from the car used in Toman and Tabbutt's 2019 cannonball run, modified turbochargers, an upgraded heat-exchanger, and custom ECU tuning that allowed engine-mapping to be changed to suit 91- or 93-octane fuel, allowing the car to generate an estimated. The run achieved an overall average speed of, with average speeds upwards of across some states, and which "at no time exceeded ". This is the widely accepted current record.
In early June 2020, as reported by Road & Track, Fred Ashmore allegedly completed a solo run in 25 hours and 55 minutes. The claim was cast into doubt by Road & Track after investigation showed the evidence to support the claim to be doctored.

Double transcontinental record

In May 2020, the team of Chris Clemens and Mark Spence in a highly modified Mercedes SL500 followed the Toman/Tabbutt team out of New York, drove from the Red Ball Garage in New York City to the Portofino Hotel & Marina in Redondo Beach, California and then turned around and went back to the Red Ball Garage in 74 hours and 5 minutes.
In April 2022, the team of Nik Krueger, Mark Spence and Wesley Vigh drove from the Red Ball Garage in New York City to the Portofino Hotel and Marina in Redondo Beach, California, then back to the Red Ball Garage in 65 hours and 28 minutes, shattering the prior record by nearly eight and a half hours. The team used a modified 2008 Saab 9-5. That record was beaten just one week later by Bennett Wilson, Chris Ruppmann, and Grady Leno with a time of 65 hours and 19 minutes in a 2012 Mercedes-Benz S-Class in April 2022.
In October 2024, the team of Nik Krueger, Wesley Vigh, and Christopher Michaels drove from the Red Ball Garage in New York City to the Portofino Hotel and Marina in Redondo Beach, California and back to the Red Ball Garage in 61 hours and 59 minutes, setting the current Coast-to-Coast-to-Coast Cannonball Run Record and reclaiming their short-lived title from 2022. The run used the same 2008 Saab 9-5.

Diesel record

On April 4, 2020, the three-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 and over the journey.
In August 2024, Las Vegas native Chris Stowell would complete a solo run of 27 hours and 16 minutes in a 2015 BMW 535d, not only breaking the diesel record, but also the last verified solo record by Carl Dietz in a Cadillac ATS, who ran it in 27 hours and 54 minutes. Stowell also beat the pre-pandemic outright record set by the team of Arne Toman, Doug Tabbutt, and Berkeley Chadwick. Stowel averaged around and over the journey.

Motorcycle record

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 tank 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 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. 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, travelling in 38 hours 49 minutes on a K1600GT BMW motorcycle. The trip was documented by notaries at both start and finish.
  10. 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.
  11. Calvin Cote completed the run in a time of, departing the Portofino Hotel and Marina on at and arriving at the Red Ball Garage on at. The run was completed on a 2012 BMW K1600 GTL equipped with a auxiliary fuel tank, radar detector, and radar/lidar absorbing paint.
  12. Alex Jones set a new benchmark of atop his 2014 Yamaha FJR1300. The bike was equipped with a auxiliary fuel tank, radar detector, laser jammers, and additional lighting. Jones left the Red Ball Garage on at and arrived at Portofino Hotel on at, covering more than with stops only to refuel.
  13. Ross "Beau" Earnest set a new time of 32 hours and 32 minutes between April 19–21, 2024. The 2008 Yamaha FJR1300 was equipped with an additional fuel cell, laser jammers, radar detector and a thermal night vision camera. Earnest left the Red Ball Garage in NYC on Friday April 19 at and made it to the Portofino Inn Hotel in Redondo Beach, CA Sunday morning April 21 at. Covering more than he only stopped 5 times for fuel and was able to keep an average of.