This Illegal, No-Rules Race Across America Could Never Happen Today
1. Based On A True Story
Movies like Cannonball Run and The Gumball Rally were based on a real event: The Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash.
2. Two Men Had An Idea
The idea first came from Brock Yates, an auto racer and writer for Car and Driver, and the magazine's editor Steve Smith.
3. They Named It After A Legend
The race was named after Erwin "Cannonball Baker," a famous turn-of-the-century auto racer who set many of the world's first long-distance driving records
4. They Rode In Moon Trash II
The first Cannonball Run wasn't a race—more of a proof of concept. Yates and Steve Smith, along with Yates's son Brock Jr. and their friend Jim Williams, ran the race alone in a custom Dodge Sportsman they called "Moon Trash II".
5. The Interstate System Was The Perfect Course
Yates and Smith wanted the run to promote the Interstate Highway System and to protest America's increasingly strict traffic laws.
