Across the country in 28 hours

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

I know we have a few car enthusiasts here.

A new coast-to-coast speed record was set a couple weeks ago.

2803 miles in 28 hours, 50 minutes and 30 seconds.
From the Red Ball Garage in NYC to the Portofino in Redondo Beach.

100 mph moving average, 98 mph overall. 158 mph top speed. 46 minutes total stop time.

A lot of people didn't believe 30 hours could be broken.

It's a real shame Brock Yates is in a home, suffering from Alzheimers. Cannonball Baker would be proud.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/31/us/new-york-los-angeles-cannonball-speed-record/

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[JerryBaumchen 1,377]

Hi joe,

Quote

I know we have a few car enthusiasts here.

While we all have our Walter Mitty-ish moments, that is one of only three races that I would truly like to parttake in:

The CannonBall - 24 Hours of LeMans - Indie 500

If only,

JerryBaumchen

[Arvoitus 1]

So in US its possible to break the law, go on public record about it and not be punished? Or am I missing something here? Do the cops need to have him go 150 mph in front of their eyes and have like speed radar reading or why isn't he punished for what he did?

Your rights end where my feelings begin.

[Andy9o8 2]

Arvoitus

So in US its possible to break the law, go on public record about it and not be punished? Or am I missing something here? Do the cops need to have him go 150 mph in front of their eyes and have like speed radar reading or why isn't he punished for what he did?

Short answer: You answered your own question.

[LuckyMcSwervy 0]

Is there actual route published anywhere? I didn't see it in the article. Just wondering... thanks!

Always be kinder than you feel.

[Arvoitus 1]

So basically its a balance between giving enough information that it can be verified that they've done it vs. not giving enough information to be prosecuted and punished.

Your rights end where my feelings begin.

[LuckyMcSwervy 0]

Makes sense. Do they not want to rub it in the face of law enforcement that missed then along the way?

Always be kinder than you feel.

[swisschris62 0]

Under 30 is impressive considering it wasn't sponsored and l.e. didn't give a green light.
To be clear, I do think it can be done.
Did this guy do it? I'd sure like to see that gps.
I call bs that he was in St. Louis by dawn. By dawn means were talking about 8 hours in time. NY - St. Louis is about 1000 miles. He would have had to fuel once.
He either took 76 ( most likely) or 80. 76 isn't exactly a "high speed" highway. This highway has tunnels, narrow, windy lanes and in mountains. This highway is patrolled pretty heavy with Pa state police.
It's also a toll road where his receipt would show how quick he blew through the state.
80 is a better highway for speed. Wider, straighter lanes, no tunnels, and generally less bears watching. It's also not a toll rd.
He claims he had spotters riding ahead to give him a heads up through Pa...for starters 150 mile lead wouldn't be of much help except maybe to warn of construction ( which 76 has its fair share of). I have drivers all around me talking on the radio every day reporting speed traps and still every once in a while, one sneaks into the middle that no one seen.
Ohio and Indiana are well patrolled states too.
I don't know all the state laws regarding jammers and detectors but they also aren't fool proof. Laser and the detector see each other at the same time, in other words, it's already too late when your detector alarms you. They also don't just leave them on spilling laser ( clearly I'm not a scientist) everywhere to be detected.
In St. Louis he would have jumped on 44. It's pretty smooth sailing through Mo. although this highway too runs through many urban areas where things slow down. This highway usually isn't patrolled real crazy.
I can see him making real good time west of Oklahoma City. Once you get west of there you can really start putting your foot into it but they do watch these highways and they are good at what they do...
I have 4 wheelers go by me doing triple digits out in the desert quite often but I also see them getting caught. It may look like your in the middle of no where but the highway patrol is watching.
So can it be done...yeah, but I'm not so sure this guy did it.

[LuckyMcSwervy 0]

I also wonder if law enforcement along the route received any reports of aggressive driving specifically about that vehicle. I guess I'm wondering if they were a-hole drivers to others on the roads.

Always be kinder than you feel.

[swisschris62 0]

Good point...
You can bet if they were doing 100 mph + on highways in the north east someone was making that call.
76 is a 2 lane toll road and has narrow spots.
Anything over 80 would look incredibly fast on that road.
Again, I suspect bs.

[swisschris62 0]

Oh, and on a 2 lane highway there's no way you wouldn't scare people and be driving aggressively coming up behind them doing triple digits.
Not everyone has run triple digit speeds but I can assure you that they are incredibly fast even on highways with minimal traffic.
His plan to drive it on the weekend also doesn't necessarily mean less traffic. In fact sometimes weekends are busier.
Not sure what sort of advantage a full moon would provide either.

[oldwomanc6 56]

swisschris62

Oh, and on a 2 lane highway there's no way you wouldn't scare people and be driving aggressively coming up behind them doing triple digits.
Not everyone has run triple digit speeds but I can assure you that they are incredibly fast even on highways with minimal traffic.
His plan to drive it on the weekend also doesn't necessarily mean less traffic. In fact sometimes weekends are busier.
Not sure what sort of advantage a full moon would provide either.

TIDES! Who can really explain them?

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[LuckyMcSwervy 0]

swisschris62

Oh, and on a 2 lane highway there's no way you wouldn't scare people and be driving aggressively coming up behind them doing triple digits.
Not everyone has run triple digit speeds but I can assure you that they are incredibly fast even on highways with minimal traffic.
His plan to drive it on the weekend also doesn't necessarily mean less traffic. In fact sometimes weekends are busier.
Not sure what sort of advantage a full moon would provide either.

Well if his wife was PMSing they say the full moon makes it worse. Maybe that's why he wanted out of the house during the full moon.

Always be kinder than you feel.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

LuckyMcSwervy

Is there actual route published anywhere? I didn't see it in the article. Just wondering... thanks!

Brock Yates' book covered the routes fairly well. 80 to 76 (in Ohio) to 71 to 70 to 44 to 40. Yates had a kind of short cut in New Mexico to get down to 10. There's been enough new roads that there's probably a better way from 40 to LA these days.

Quote

...Did this guy do it? I'd sure like to see that gps.
I call bs that he was in St. Louis by dawn. By dawn means were talking about 8 hours in time. NY - St. Louis is about 1000 miles. He would have had to fuel once...

...I don't know all the state laws regarding jammers and detectors but they also aren't fool proof. Laser and the detector see each other at the same time, in other words, it's already too late when your detector alarms you. They also don't just leave them on spilling laser ( clearly I'm not a scientist) everywhere to be detected...

They had (according to the story I linked) an independent tracking company verify their trip. They also had triple fuel capacity (2 extra fuel cells in the trunk). Saving time on fuel stops has always been one of the keys to the Cannonball. A couple entrants in the first one had vans with huge tanks (the "Arkansas Tankers" and the Polish team)

And they had laser jammers. They are illegal in some places, but not all. They instantaneously return a signal to the lidar (laser gun) that keeps it from getting a speed reading. Detectors are legal (except in Commercial vehicles) everywhere in the US except Virginia and Washington DC.

I agree that not pissing off other drivers (especially the trucks) would be vital. The cops are too much in touch with each other that too many reports of a silver Mercedes doing triple digit speeds would have resulted in them getting stopped. The Cannonball in 72 had a real problem with that in New Mexico. The last one in 79 had a problem with that on 44 in Missouri. A couple people ended up in jail.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

swisschris62

Oh, and on a 2 lane highway there's no way you wouldn't scare people and be driving aggressively coming up behind them doing triple digits.
Not everyone has run triple digit speeds but I can assure you that they are incredibly fast even on highways with minimal traffic.
His plan to drive it on the weekend also doesn't necessarily mean less traffic. In fact sometimes weekends are busier.
Not sure what sort of advantage a full moon would provide either.

You can cut your lights and still see reasonably well. This particular maneuver is pretty insane at any speed, much less three digits.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[LuckyMcSwervy 0]

wolfriverjoe

***Is there actual route published anywhere? I didn't see it in the article. Just wondering... thanks!

Brock Yates' book covered the routes fairly well. 80 to 76 (in Ohio) to 71 to 70 to 44 to 40. Yates had a kind of short cut in New Mexico to get down to 10. There's been enough new roads that there's probably a better way from 40 to LA these days.

Thanks!! And for some reason reading this thread makes me think of Jackie Gleason and saying 'sumbitch'. But that was Smokey and the Bandit.

Always be kinder than you feel.

[oldwomanc6 56]

FlyingRhenquest

***Oh, and on a 2 lane highway there's no way you wouldn't scare people and be driving aggressively coming up behind them doing triple digits.
Not everyone has run triple digit speeds but I can assure you that they are incredibly fast even on highways with minimal traffic.
His plan to drive it on the weekend also doesn't necessarily mean less traffic. In fact sometimes weekends are busier.
Not sure what sort of advantage a full moon would provide either.

You can cut your lights and still see reasonably well. This particular maneuver is pretty insane at any speed, much less three digits.

Especially this time of year, with the deer in mating season.

And let me tell you, at night, you can barely see far enough in front of you with the headlights on at that speed (that I've heard from a friend of a friend), if you try to do this in the dark (headlights off), and you make it all the way across, you would be extremely fortunate.

Although, for a long time, that did seem to be the norm for drug smugglers up I 95.

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[swisschris62 0]

If you were all alone on a dark highway with no traffic coming in the opposite direction then a full moon might help you.
The thing is, there's always traffic coming in the other direction with a good share of those people scared of the dark ( even with a full moon).
Every time you get on-coming vehicles ( especially those running high beam that won't turn it off) your night vision goes out the window ( regardless how much you try avoiding the light).
As for deer...they are every where. I've personally taken out at least a dozen in my 30+ years out here. The deer don't hang out on the highway. The stand along the side eating. There's no predicting when they will jump. It doesn't matter whether you see them or not.
Animal chasers ( the things they sell that look like a little airplane engine). It's supposed to emit a sound that will get them running. I have them on the front of my truck...I've got at least a dozen deer, countless armadillos, possum and other little critters that have met my front end.
I saw you mention the gps...I'm saying I'd like to see the numbers, particularly the run from NY to St. Louis... I call bs.I mentioned the fuel and did the calculations. Without large tanks, it would be impossible to make good time.
The crap about him being able to kill his tail lights all sounds very elusive and like he really thought it all out but...what are we in the 60's?
The bears have technology and don't like to be beat. Running through a speed trap, then killing your lights when you see blue lights behind you is a ridiculous plan. You might get away once, but rest assured they are going to come looking for you. Where you going to hide? At a truck stop, full of trucks in a small desert watering hole? I don't think so.
Very fun thing to do but now a days you'd need cooperation from the state to some degree or get incredibly lucky.

[swisschris62 0]

Running 95 with the option of being to kill your lights is different.
On a good part of 95 you'd be able to jump off the highway and be able to disappear on city streets with a lot of traffic. That gets much harder to do out west.

[swisschris62 0]

Quote

Although, for a long time, that did seem to be the norm for drug smugglers up I 95.

Let me guess...more of that information from a friend of a friends...right?

[NWFlyer 2]

Interestingly, not long after this (on 10/25), Hal Needham (who directed the movie Cannonball Run) passed away. Wonder if he heard of this before his passing?

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[kallend 2,034]

Meh, I could do it in less in my Mooney without risking jail, and still get a good night's sleep.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[normiss 806]

Yea, I don't think you understand how this race works.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

kallend

Meh, I could do it in less in my Mooney without risking jail, and still get a good night's sleep.

Well, the C&D guys raced the Flying magazine guys a few times. One was a Porsche against the Porsche powered Mooney.

They made the race "fairer" by requiring the pilot to start the race in town (usually at the hotel they were staying in) and end by going into town.

The plane always won.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[pchapman 279]

For those with an interest in Cannonball Run type drives, there is the documentary film "32 hours 7 minutes", more or less about other records or attempts in the 2000's. It's out there on P2P.