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 113mph, driven by Arne Toman and Doug Tabbutt.
An 'electric cannonball' is a new twist on the original race above, but is completed without burning any traditional petrol/diesel fuel in the race vehicle, and requires the battery capacity, charge-locations, charge-durations and vehicle state-of-charge at each 'start/stop' as part of the 'evidence' to support the record attempt.
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.
See also: Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. 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[1] 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.
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.[2] [3] [4]
Record attempts are criticized for their illegality and disregard for public safety, as these attempts are not authorized by or in agreement with any law enforcement agency.[5]
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 .[6] [7] 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.[8]
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.[9]
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 .[10] 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.[11] [4]
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.[12] [13] 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 800hp and fitted with an additional fuel tank in the trunk providing 67USgal enabling the team to stop just four times for fuel for a total of just over 22 minutes.[4] 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.[14]
The record was broken multiple times during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking advantage of a reduction in both road users and law enforcement presence.[15]
In April 2020, an anonymous crew traveled from the Red Ball Garage[16] on the east side of Manhattan to the Portofino Hotel[17] in Redondo Beach, California—a total of —in 26 hours 38 minutes.[18] [19] The team averaged . The record was completed in a 2019 Audi A8L with additional fuel tanks in the rear storage.[20]
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 Taurus police interceptor. 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 67usgal auxiliary fuel tank sourced from the car used in Toman and Tabbutt's 2019 cannonball run, modified turbochargers, an upgraded heat-exchanger, and custom ECU tuning that allowed for engine-mapping to be changed on-demand to suit either 91 or 93-octane fuel; allowing the car to generate an estimated 600hp. The run achieved an overall average speed of 110mph, with average speeds upwards of across some states, and which at no time exceeded .[21] [22] [23] [24]
In early June 2020, as reported by Road & Track, Fred Ashmore allegedly completed a solo run in 25 hours and 55 minutes.[25] The claim has now been cast into doubt by Road & Track after further investigation revealed that the evidence to support the claim had been doctored.[26]
Also 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 to the Portofino Inn in LA and then turned around and went back to the Red Ball Garage in 74 hours and 5 minutes.[27]
In April 2022, the team of Nik Krueger, Mark Spence and Wesley Vigh drove from the Red Ball Garage in New York to the Portofino Hotel and Marina in LA, 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.[28] Mark Spence remains the only person in Cannonball Run history since Brock Yates to challenge their own record and beat it. The current Coast-to-Coast-to-Coast Cannonball Run Record is 65 hours and 19 minutes by Bennett Wilson, Chris Ruppmann, and Grady Leno in a 2012 Mercedes S550 in April 2022.
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 25.51NaN1 and over the 2852miles journey.[29]
Motorcycle between New York and Los Angeles 1917 to present:
In 1968, the Great Transcontinental Electric Car Race was held between student groups at Caltech and MIT.[43] [44] 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 3311miles route, spaced NaNmiles apart.[45] 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.[46]
With the introduction of long-range EVs, such as the Tesla Roadster (2008) 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 of 15 from Tesla Motors completed a 3427miles route from Los Angeles to New York City run in 76 hours, 5 minutes. (Time included 60 hours, 8 minutes driving, and 15 hours, 57 minutes charging.)[47] In July 2014, a team from Edmunds completed a slightly shorter 3,331.9-mile route in 67 hours, 21 minutes. (Time included 52 hours, 41 minutes driving, and 14 hours, 40 minutes charging.)[48]
Carl J. Reese and co-drivers Rodney Hawk and Deena Mastracci took advantage of a newly opened corridor on Interstate 70 to drive the 3011miles 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 (a fleet tracking company) were sent to Jalopnik and the Guinness Book of World Records. GPSInsight provided GPS tracking equipment to the team to verify the event.[49]
On October 18–21, 2015, Deena Mastracci and Reese were joined by Alex Roy. They set a new record for an LA–NYC run in an electric vehicle with a total time of 57 hours, 48 minutes.[50]
On August 24–27, 2016, the LA–NYC record was broken again by a team comprising Alex Roy, Righthook CEO Warren Ahner, and StreetWars founder Franz Aliquo, who completed the run in 55 hours flat in a 2016 Tesla Model S 90D.[51] GPS logs were recorded by US Fleet Tracking, and Comma.AI's Chffr data logger, and data was shared with The Drive.[52]
In December 2017, 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, driving from the Portofino Inn to the Red Ball Garage in 50 hours and 16 minutes.[53] Their drive took place December 28–31 of 2017. GPS data was captured using the GPS Tracks application, and video evidence was shared on YouTube.[54]
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 2835miles in a Tesla Model 3 Long Range between July 12 and 14, 2019.[55]
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 Tesla Model 3 Long Range which had been modified, including lowering the car for better aerodynamics.[56]
At the end of 2020, Kyle Conner, Drew Peterson and Tijmen Schreur lowered the EV record to 44:26 despite winter conditions in an Out of Spec Motoring Porsche Taycan with the large battery, aerodynamic wheels, and massaging seats, using Electrify America CCS chargers with up to 350 kW.[57] [58]
In October 2021, the EV record was broken twice in the same rented 2021 Tesla Model S Long Range.[59] The first drive, from Los Angeles to New York City, by Ryan Levenson and Will Wood, lowered the EV record to 42:52.[60] The second drive occurred on October 22, 2021, leaving from the Red Ball Garage in Manhattan at 11:00 am and arriving at the Portifino Inn in Redondo Beach, CA 42 hours, 17 minutes later. The second drive was piloted by a driver team of Ryan Levenson and Josh Allan. The only modification made to the stock Tesla was to replace the factory 21-inch wheels with the more efficient Tesla 19-inch wheels and to over-inflate the tire pressure to 47psi for the second drive.[61]
In April 2023, Kyle Conner attempted another record with the Out of Spec Motoring team, using a Lucid Air. This time the trip ended in 44 hours 32 minutes, which does not set a new record. However, their lead car Polestar 1, driven by Alyssa Zupan, set a new plug-in hybrid record with 45 hours and 38 minutes.[62]
In April 2015, the first coast-to-coast semi-automated record was set by employees of Delphi. Delphi engineers covered, San Francisco to New York City, over a span of nine days.[63]
In October 2015, 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 2995miles journey in 57 hours, 48 minutes after departing from Redondo Beach, California on October 18 at 9:15 p.m. PST, and arriving at Red Ball Garage in New York on October 21 at 10:03 a.m. EST.[64] 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.[65]
In August 2016, the semi-automated (SAE Level 2) driving record at 55 hours was 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.[66]
In April 2024, a new semi-automated record was set by Jay Roberts and his wife Gypsy Roberts in a 2017 Prius. The car was fitted with a Comma.ai driver assistance system which ran Openpilot. The drive took 43 hours and 18 minutes and was 98.4% autonomous. [67]
| Time (hrs:mins) | Year | Team members | Vehicle | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 271:15 | 1915 | Erwin Baker | Stutz Bearcat[68] | 50mph average |
| 184:16 | 1917 | Alan T Bedell | Henderson 4 cylinder motorcycle[69] | |
| 53:30 | 1933 | Erwin Baker | Graham-Paige model 57 Blue Streak 8[70] | |
| 48:09 | 1964 | Stanley Rosenthal, Skip Jaehne | 1964 Sunbeam Imp Sport, 875cc Rootes/Coventry Climax | |
| 40:51 | 1971 | Brock Yates Sr, Brock Yates Jr, Steve Smith, Jim Williams | 1971 Dodge Custom Sportsman | |
| 35:54 | 1971 | Dan Gurney, Brock Yates | Ferrari Daytona | Redball to Portofino |
| 35:53 | 1975 | Jack May, Rick Cline | 1973 Ferrari Dino 246GTS | Redball to Portofino |
| 32:51 | 1979 | Dave Heinz, Dave Yarborough | 1978 Jaguar XJS | Final Cannonball race – Goodwives (Darien, CT) to Portofino |
| 32:07 | 1983 | David Diem, Doug Turner | US Express Race | |
| 31:04 | 2006 | Alex Roy, Dave Maher | 2000 BMW M5 | average, 31 minutes stopped. fuel capacity[71] |
| 28:50 | 2013 | Ed Bolian, Dave Black, Dan Huang | 2004 Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG | 98mph average, 46 minutes stopped. 67USgal fuel capacity[72] [73] |
| 27:25 | 2019 | Arne Toman, Doug Tabbutt, and Berkeley Chadwick | 2015 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG | 103mph average, 22 minutes stopped, 67USgal fuel capacity[74] |
| 26:38 | 2020 | Chris Allen, James Allen, and Kale Odhner | 2019 Audi A8 | 106mph average. Marine fuel tanks 65.7 gallon fuel capacity. [75] [76] |
| 25:39 | 2020 | Arne Toman, Doug Tabbutt, and Dunadel Daryoush | 2016 Audi S6 | 110mph average, 31 minutes stopped, 65USgal fuel capacity. |