Were You on the Original Cannonball Run?
A group of documentarians calling themselves RaceReporters/MotorReporters are attempting to piece together what happened during the Cannonball Runs between 1971 and 1979.
Started by Brock Yates, who temporarily found himself at TTAC for a few short weeks, and Steve Smith of Car & Driver, the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash was born in secrecy and kept away from the general public until the Hollywood film of the same name hit the silver screen.
After a “large stash of photography” taken by a Cannonball Run attendee was uncovered in Germany, the filmmakers are putting out a call to others who may have been present to witness what is now one of the most well-known underground “races” in history.
The press release states the Yates family is involved in the venture. However, Brock himself suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and isn’t mentioned as being involved.
The filmmakers are specifically looking for people who were at the following locations:
– Cannonball Start (Red Ball Garage, Manhattan, NY or Lock, Stock & Barrel, Darien, CT),
The Cannonball Run was succeeded by One Lap of America, also a creation of Yates.
[Source: MotorReporters via AutoBlog]
Correction: I initially wrote Steve Baker was one of the co-creators of the Cannonball Run. His name is Steve Smith, not Steve Baker.
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Back in day of the first Cannonball photos, filming, selfies, were not a big deal. The deal was to actually do it, primarily at night, and each team picked a different route that would hopefully permit them to not get too many speeding tickets in the process. http://allamericanracers.com/first-cannonball-run/ http://www.cottonowens.com/archives/Cannonball_Run.php Once it became too well known, the mystique of the Cannonball had run its course.
Yates is a national treasure. I thought of him yesterday as I drove home from an extra-early shift at work, trying to stay awake at the wheel. Back in the 70's at C&D, he postulated that highway speed limits should be raised to force drivers to pay attention...that driving too slow induces boredom and sleepiness. Remembering that tidbit, I hit 90, woke up and made it home safe and sound. I also recall his writing about Cannonball Baker and wanting to put together an underground race to honor Baker's legacy of running coast-to-coast in 1905 or thereabouts.
It's a damned that such a great voice should be silenced by Alzheimers. Still, by his late 70s he had produced plenty and done a lot. I see there's a page for him on Facebook. Many Cannonball-related things there. https://www.facebook.com/brockyatestributefund Back to the original post, it would probably be a hoot to see the collected stories and photos of the early events. You'd think this would already had been done.
I think yates still owes me a few issues of the zine he wrote back in the 80's.....