Cannonball Run records falling in lockdown

Main record is now under 26 hours, plus several other ones for solo driver, diesel, coast-to-coast-to-coast have also supposedly gone down. 

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a32475343/cannonball-record-broken-again-may-2020-sub-26/

I know this is dangerous and stupid. This is the kind of thing can result in needless deaths and can give big gov the rope to hang our hobby.

But I still have a stupid romantic attachment to the idea. It's probably the fault of Burt Reynolds' and two attractive ladies in a Countach originally, then reading the accounts of the original. 

I wonder as traffic increasing as the country reopens if these records will become nearly unbeatable. And I guarantee it makes any attempt to actually beat them even more unsafe. I wonder if self driving cars become common, will this hurt or help breaking the record?

And hey, I know there are varying opinions on this sort of stuff, so be nice to each other or I give the mods free reign to lock and kill at the least provocation.

I do wonder if these records will eventually be considered as a separate record because of the special circumstances (I know there's not really an official sanctioning body or anything).

In reply to slowride :

I kinda think they should have an asterisk next to them in the record book. Hell of a lot easier when there's 20-40% less vehicles on the road, although it would certainly make you stand out more to LEOs.

I'd rather they do them now than when there are more people around. Make it impossible to break so people stop trying it. 

LEOs many of whom had publicly stated they wer not chasing speeders...

I don't know ....I mean, traffic was probably 20-40% lower when this started, but that's not really a thing...

On the original 1971 run, population of the US was 207 million. Now it's 328 million. So do we need asterixes on all the old ones too?

I'm with Seth. Let them go out and do this stupid thing while the roads are empty and set impossible records with the lowest chance of taking out innocent bystanders.

I liked the idea of it when I saw the movie as a teenager. As an adult, I find it asinine that it is even a thing. Treat the people doing it like trolls and ignore them and maybe they will go away.

I've heard the asterisk and "doesn't count" arguments. Uh, it never technically counts. It's all illegal and unorganized. That's kinda the point. 

I think this "record" is idiotic and dangerous.  The people organizing these and the sponsors supporting them should be prosecuted.  If people are caught driving like this it should be impoundment of the vehicle and jail time for the participants.

It's like any 'record' tho, No matter how much anything is labeled as "unbeatable", someone somewhere will figure out a way that they could possibly do it better/faster. There is an entire culture based around this concept of speed-running videogames, the cannonball runs just require a much larger budget, both monetarily and time wise, required before anyone sets the next unbeatable record. 

I still want to drive the route and just enjoy it with a regular sized fuel tank and traveling at the posted limit. 

I'm conflicted on this. Is it dangerous? Probably. More dangerous than all the people texting and driving? Maybe not.

As for the records, well, it feels a little hollow. Not only because of the current situation, but because they aren't doing it all together with 15-20 teams racing each other, they have GPS and spotters and modern technology, etc. My nostalgia is for the old movies, not necessarily for the run itself.

I dunno. I will say if a simulation ever came along that allowed us to do the whole thing virtually, with 1:1 exact replicas of the whole US highway system (or at least the primary routes used for this), I'd have some fun with that.

slowbird said:

I'm conflicted on this. Is it dangerous? Probably. More dangerous than all the people texting and driving? Maybe not.

As for the records, well, it feels a little hollow. Not only because of the current situation, but because they aren't doing it all together with 15-20 teams racing each other, they have GPS and spotters and modern technology, etc. My nostalgia is for the old movies, not necessarily for the run itself.

I dunno. I will say if a simulation ever came along that allowed us to do the whole thing virtually, with 1:1 exact replicas of the whole US highway system (or at least the primary routes used for this), I'd have some fun with that.

TBH, it's a wonder that an enterprising videogame designer hasn't done this already.  It seems like it would be relatively easy to (if not exorbitantly expensive) get the GPS data from Google or Waze or some other outlet with maps content.  I've been playing Dirt Rally 2.0 on Xbox one with my grandson, and it sort of does exactly this with rally stages.  It shouldn't be that hard to render the American countryside.

I like the morons talking about the ethics of using a quarantine to set a new record on a highly illegal event.  Especially since the last guy who did it pre corona admitted to doing an average speed of well over 100 mph when traffic was normal., and what they'll admit to is always less than what they actually did.

06HHR (Forum Supporter) said:

TBH, it's a wonder that an enterprising videogame designer hasn't done this already.  It seems like it would be relatively easy to if not exorbitantly expensive to get the GPS data from Google or Waze or some other outlet with maps content.  It shouldn't be that hard to render the American countryside.

Probably limited processing power. I know 'The Crew' has the whole US as a game map, but it's also a scaled version of everything.

I would imagine to make it a 1:1 representation AND be able to adjust ALL variables, not just traffic/weather but every conceivable vehicle and configuration AND have a realistic handling model. So probably if the same people who do the runs invested their time and money into a simulation of the run, it could be doable. 

Grizz said:

I like the morons talking about the ethics of using a quarantine to set a new record on a highly illegal event.  Especially since the last guy who did it pre corona admitted to doing an average speed of well over 100 mph when traffic was normal., and what they'll admit to is always less than what they actually did.

Well, 3000 miles in less than 27 hours means you average 110 mph or better. 30 hours is 100 mph. Including stops, so that means you have to actually be driving MUCH faster than that. 

Since we all agree that the issue is the ethics and legality of going stupid fast on public roads with innocent civilians being put at risk.  I have an idea.

Some ultra rich dude could buy a free pass.   Like closing down a section of road for a movie, but done across the country in rolling segments.  Literally buy the permits and have the police shut off the on ramps for a few hours before you (and your team) come screaming by.

How

much would it cost?  10-20 million dollars?  Nothing to the ultra rich.

From what I've seen about the logistics and municipal red tape involved on closing one section of a local road, it's not about cost. There's no way you would get all those thousands of jurisdictions to shake hands on the same day, much less close roads.

Especially considering the number of people who will drive down a closed road that is obviously closed because they don't care that you've closed it. 

As a teen with hormones going out of control there was nothing better than the Lamborghini with two super models in it dashing across the country. The older me is like WTF. 

In reply to dean1484 :

are they still finishing at the Portofino Inn at Redondo beach harbor ?

You would think the local cops  would  catch them , 

100 mph plus on the Freeway is one thing , but 100mph plus on the city streets is crazy !

anyone know the local time zone start and finish ?

In reply to californiamilleghia :

Thats why its done in secret and not discussed till weeks later. And this isn't head to head, it happens whenever the team decides it wants to run. And that's all about not getting caught.

I'd love to see these guys get caught.  You can argue all you want about how they're not any more dangerous than driving to work in normal traffic but that's just BS.  When you're on the road doing 125-175mph, on open roads with regular traffic on them, you're grossly endangering everyone out there at the same time.

I have to wonder- as fast as the records are coming and going, just how manyy guys are sitting on deck with Audi's and BMWs with an army of tech and an extra gas tank? This isn't like me hopping in the speed 3 and ripping for the coast. This is way different. Legality aside, I find the process fascinating. 

Yeah the article said they were in an A8 and had 30 cars scouting ahead for them at times.. Had a photo of the trunk full of marine gas tanks.