New "Cannonball Run" Record Allegedly Set During COVID-19 Shutdown

[Guest]

According to this Road & Track Magazine article, to cover NY to LA in a little over 26 hours would require an average speed of 103mph (~166kph).

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a32092440/26-hour-38-minute-cannonball-record-coronavirus/

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Yeah, this is going around a couple of the car boards I read.

 

It seems real. The tracking abilities we have today make it pretty easy to verify. 

But it's not 'legit'. If it's the same article I've read, they say that this record will always have 'an asterisk' next to it.
They're getting a lot of flak from the road race types (I'm not one, but I know some of them). Admittedly, guys who illegally race across country on public roads are waaaay down on the list of people who should criticize this. 

They did it when the roads are very quiet.

I drive truck and my ability to get through major cities (Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, ect) is way better than I've ever seen it. 
I can get through Chicago like nothing. Even during what used to be the 'afternoon rush', I can get from WI to IN with very little delay. The roads should be packed with traffic crawling, yet I'm cruising along at nearly 60. In some ways, it's really cool. And convenient. but it's creepy.

The whole idea of the Cannonball was to get from New York City to Los Angeles on regular roads, with regular traffic, dealing with cops and all of that. 
Brock Yates' original philosophy was to do it without causing a stir or creating a risk. 

The first real 'race' did just that. Yates & Dan Gurney made it very quickly, without causing any problems and only one ticket. 
The later races weren't quite so innocuous. They took more risks, did some pretty aggressive stuff in heavy traffic, and attracted a lot more attention. Yates' book is a revealing and really cool account of the whole thing.

These guys took advantage of the situation, where there's very few people on the roads, and even reduced police presence. 

The problem is that right now, the hospitals and health care system is under very heavy strain. If they wrecked they would put themselves and likely others into hospitals full of Covid victims. Exposing themselves to it and taking up desperately needed resources.
To take this kind of risk right now is pretty stupid. 

To average over 100, top speeds need to be well above that. 

The last guys who did it had a top speed of 193. 
Doing that is a big risk. Both to the people doing it and everyone around them.
They can say 'we only went that fast when we could see the road was clear', but shit happens really fast at those speeds. 

This sort of thing is always 'pretty dangerous and fairly stupid'. 
To do it now is far, far, far more stupid. Well beyond reckless. 

[gowlerk 2,275]

1 hour ago, wolfriverjoe said:

But it's not 'legit'. If it's the same article I've read, they say that this record will always have 'an asterisk' next to it.

The whole enterprise is not legit.  It has always been unofficial. That's the whole point. All these clowns have done is to add an extra layer of foolishness to an already outlaw activity.

 

1 hour ago, wolfriverjoe said:

The last guys who did it had a top speed of 193. 

These guys probably did not need to go quite that fast in the present conditions. They are actually safer and more responsible than the current "record holders". ALL OF THESE GUYS SHOULD BE IN JAIL.

[JerryBaumchen 1,466]

2 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

shit happens really fast at those speeds. 

Hi Joe,

Probably about 7-8 times, in conditions I considered 'somewhat' safe, I have been in the triple digits.  About 50 yrs ago, I was driving friend's Alfa ( he was in the passenger seat ), in far east Portland, out in farm country.  I was doing ~85, 2-lane road, clear & dry, nobody ahead of me & nobody in the oncoming lane.  Suddenly I noticed this woman come to a stop on my right but quite ahead of us.  She looked at us &, I'm very sure, did not see us.  She started to cross the road.  I could not have stopped if I had wanted to, I actually thought about how best to hit her.  Then, just as suddenly, she saw us & stopped.  I pulled over about 1/2 mile farther & we both went, 'WOW.'  We talked about it & he saw what I saw and had the very same thoughts that I had.

I'm a more cautious driver these days.  

Oh, to be young & dumb again.

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  About 30 yrs ago I had a hankering to do this one:  https://sscc.us/default.aspx

At the time I owned a '97 BMW 840 & it was capable of meeting the req'ments.

 

 

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

2 hours ago, gowlerk said:

The whole enterprise is not legit.  It has always been unofficial. That's the whole point. All these clowns have done is to add an extra layer of foolishness to an already outlaw activity.

 

These guys probably did not need to go quite that fast in the present conditions. They are actually safer and more responsible than the current "record holders". ALL OF THESE GUYS SHOULD BE IN JAIL.

Right. The whole thing is pretty stupid. This was 'more stupid'.

Getting caught at those speeds will often get the driver jailed. Some places will impound the car.

1 hour ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Joe,

Probably about 7-8 times, in conditions I considered 'somewhat' safe, I have been in the triple digits.  About 50 yrs ago, I was driving friend's Alfa ( he was in the passenger seat ), in far east Portland, out in farm country.  I was doing ~85, 2-lane road, clear & dry, nobody ahead of me & nobody in the oncoming lane.  Suddenly I noticed this woman come to a stop on my right but quite ahead of us.  She looked at us &, I'm very sure, did not see us.  She started to cross the road.  I could not have stopped if I had wanted to, I actually thought about how best to hit her.  Then, just as suddenly, she saw us & stopped.  I pulled over about 1/2 mile farther & we both went, 'WOW.'  We talked about it & he saw what I saw and had the very same thoughts that I had.

I'm a more cautious driver these days.  

Oh, to be young & dumb again.

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  About 30 yrs ago I had a hankering to do this one:  https://sscc.us/default.aspx

At the time I owned a '97 BMW 840 & it was capable of meeting the req'ments.

 

 

One time AggieDave posted a story about a motorcycle going stupid fast. It impacted the rear door of a Suburban. Dave was doing his accident reconstruction thing at the time and said that there was no way the driver of the Sub could have seen the cycle in time. And that there was no way the rider could have seen the Sub in time. If the impact had been in the driver's door, it likely would have killed the driver.

 

I've been above 100 a few times. I went to Cali in the 928 back in 2014. There are some desolate sections of interstate in Utah & Nevada. Kept it around 90 most of the time (limits were 75 or 80). 
There were spots where over 100 wouldn't have been 'too stupid', but the car had a shake above 90, so I didn't push it.

The Silver State Classic is a really cool race. 90 miles of actual highway, but closed for the event. 

Last fall, it was won by an 'online friend'. 
He chronicled the run on the Rennlist 928 forum:

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/1161664-2019-silver-state-classic-challenge-official-top-speed-219mph.html

 

You don't have to sign up to read it, but there will be more ads. 

The prep and build that he's put into that car is remarkable. 
He gets faster each year.
The car is normally street legal, but he takes a few things off for the race. 

[kallend 2,146]

Stirling Moss, one of the best race drivers of all time, died this week aged 90.

In April 1960, Moss was found guilty of dangerous driving (in a Mini). He was fined £50 and banned from driving for twelve months

[JerryBaumchen 1,466]

39 minutes ago, kallend said:

Stirling Moss, one of the best race drivers of all time, died this week aged 90.

In April 1960, Moss was found guilty of dangerous driving (in a Mini). He was fined £50 and banned from driving for twelve months

Hi John,

Back about that time, I read in one of the sports car magazines, where Moss had broken his leg.  He asked the doctor how long he would be laid up.  The doctor said about 6 weeks in a cast; or, if you could lay absolutely still in bed, then about 3 weeks.  Moss went without the cast & was back on his feet 3 weeks later.

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  Moss always said that he was the best F1 driver to never win the F1 championship.

 

Edited April 12, 2020 by JerryBaumchen

[kallend 2,146]

16 minutes ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi John,

Back about that time, I read in one of the sports car magazines, where Moss had broken his leg.  He asked the doctor how long he would laid up.  The doctor said about 6 weeks in a cast; or, if you could lay absolutely still in bed, then about 3 weeks.  Moss went without the cast & was back on his feet 3 weeks later.

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  Moss always said that he was the best F1 driver to never win the F1 championship.

 

He probably was.  In the 1958 series his rival for the championship (Mike Hawthorn) was DQ'd by the stewards and Moss would have won the championship, except Moss spoke on his behalf at the hearing, thereby guaranteeing that Hawthorn would win and Moss would place 2nd.  We don't see sportsmanship like that very much any more. 

[JerryBaumchen 1,466]

7 minutes ago, kallend said:

 In the 1958 series his rival for the championship (Mike Hawthorn) 

Hi John,

Moss always wanted to be the first F1 English champion in an English car.  I think it was Hawthorn who beat him to that.

Jerry Baumchen

[yoink 321]

8 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Yeah, this is going around a couple of the car boards I read.

 

It seems real. The tracking abilities we have today make it pretty easy to verify. 

But it's not 'legit'. If it's the same article I've read, they say that this record will always have 'an asterisk' next to it.
They're getting a lot of flak from the road race types (I'm not one, but I know some of them). Admittedly, guys who illegally race across country on public roads are waaaay down on the list of people who should criticize this. 

They did it when the roads are very quiet.

I drive truck and my ability to get through major cities (Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, ect) is way better than I've ever seen it. 
I can get through Chicago like nothing. Even during what used to be the 'afternoon rush', I can get from WI to IN with very little delay. The roads should be packed with traffic crawling, yet I'm cruising along at nearly 60. In some ways, it's really cool. And convenient. but it's creepy.

The whole idea of the Cannonball was to get from New York City to Los Angeles on regular roads, with regular traffic, dealing with cops and all of that. 
Brock Yates' original philosophy was to do it without causing a stir or creating a risk. 

The first real 'race' did just that. Yates & Dan Gurney made it very quickly, without causing any problems and only one ticket. 
The later races weren't quite so innocuous. They took more risks, did some pretty aggressive stuff in heavy traffic, and attracted a lot more attention. Yates' book is a revealing and really cool account of the whole thing.

These guys took advantage of the situation, where there's very few people on the roads, and even reduced police presence. 

The problem is that right now, the hospitals and health care system is under very heavy strain. If they wrecked they would put themselves and likely others into hospitals full of Covid victims. Exposing themselves to it and taking up desperately needed resources.
To take this kind of risk right now is pretty stupid. 

To average over 100, top speeds need to be well above that. 

The last guys who did it had a top speed of 193. 
Doing that is a big risk. Both to the people doing it and everyone around them.
They can say 'we only went that fast when we could see the road was clear', but shit happens really fast at those speeds. 

This sort of thing is always 'pretty dangerous and fairly stupid'. 
To do it now is far, far, far more stupid. Well beyond reckless. 

At the moment, people who knowingly act illegally and get hurt shouldn’t be admitted to hospital.

Do it if you want, but don’t expect society to pick up your pieces when it’s struggling in a crisis. You get put to the back of the queue.

[yoink 321]

3 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

I've been above 100 a few times. I went to Cali in the 928 back in 2014. There are some desolate sections of interstate in Utah & Nevada. Kept it around 90 most of the time (limits were 75 or 80). 

I’ve done about 160 on a bike on a UK motorway (topped out a Ducati 998). That’s the most scared I’ve ever been in my entire life, even with all the other dumb shit I’ve done. Even thinking about it now gives me the jibblies.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

31 minutes ago, yoink said:

At the moment, people who knowingly act illegally and get hurt shouldn’t be admitted to hospital.

Do it if you want, but don’t expect society to pick up your pieces when it’s struggling in a crisis. You get put to the back of the queue.

No argument on that.

 

But I think the same thing of people who intentionally gather in large groups. 

[ryoder 1,590]

41 minutes ago, yoink said:

At the moment, people who knowingly act illegally and get hurt shouldn’t be admitted to hospital.

Do it if you want, but don’t expect society to pick up your pieces when it’s struggling in a crisis. You get put to the back of the queue.

You really want life-saving legal judgements to be made when someone gets hurt?

Who will be making the judgements?

[jakee 1,594]

9 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi John,

Moss always wanted to be the first F1 English champion in an English car.  I think it was Hawthorn who beat him to that.

Nope. Hawthorn was the first English world champ but he did it in a Ferrari (and died in a road accident shortly afterwards). Graham Hill was the second English world champ and did it for BRM, an English team, in 1962. The same year that Moss suffered the crash and injuries that forced him to retire. 

 

More relevant to this thread, Moss won the Mille Miglia road race, 992 miles on Italian provincial roads, at an average speed of 99mph in 1955!

[JerryBaumchen 1,466]

8 hours ago, jakee said:

Nope. Hawthorn was the first English world champ but he did it in a Ferrari (and died in a road accident shortly afterwards).

Hi Jakee,

You've stirred some memory.  Originally, Moss wanted to be the first English champion, but Hawthorn beat him to that.  It was then that Moss said that he wanted to be the first English champion in a English car.

I had forgotten about that.

Jerry Baumchen