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| The Cannonball name originates from the die-hard adventurer Erwin G. “Cannonball” Baker, the greatest cross-country record breaker of them all. Baker set 143 American distance records, including a 53 1/2 hour coast to coast solo drive averaging over 50 mph in 1933! He died a hero in 1960. Inspired by the great man and in defiance of the then introduced 55 mph US speed limit, rebellious journalist Brock Yates launched "Cannonball" and the “Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash”. An account of his tale in Car & Driver Magazine lit the Cannonball fuse. Four subsequent races were held, the climax being the 1979 event – the fastest of them all - which attracted 26 entries and was won by David Heinz and David Yarborough, who completed the entire course in just 32 hours and 51 minutes at an average of nearly 88 mph. The legend of Cannonball was established. Of course everybody remembers the subsequent Cannonball movies and great fun they were too. Whilst Yates was involved in the creation of the films, he felt the real spirit of the event was somewhat lost in the translation to film and professed his commitment to keeping the Cannonball spirit alive through his editorial and annual Cannonball events. In October 2002, Tim Porter re-energized the spirit of Cannonball by organizing a new European rally, encompassing 140 new "Cannonballers", and an astonishing 69 cars. The machines may have been more modern (save for the 1970s Fastback Mustang), the rules refined to take account of a more modern age, but the spirit of Cannonball was born again with Tim Porter's Cannonball European rally events. And in July 2007, the fun and excitement of Tim Porter's European rally's arrived in the States with the birth of "The Great American Run" a history making event with multi-starting cities and an $86,000 first prize for the winning team. Read more on the 2007 event |
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