America loves illegal street races. Just look at the history. When the government introduced prohibition, to reduce crime and increase the moral latitude of all good, God-loving Americans, America decided to make moonshine and do moonshine runs with it in tuned cars. The adrenaline-pumped illegal street race against the authorities remained on, till finally, prohibition was lifted.

When WWII was over, and a swathe of soldiers came back to no jobs and no money, to keep themselves occupied they started to tinker with cars. Enter hot rods, tuned performance, and obviously, illegal street races. Then came the bikers, and not just the ones under the AMA but the outlaw motorcycle clubs, the one-percenters, and their brand of illegal street races, and long rides.

With the advent of the muscle car, the legend of the illegal street races only grew as well. And not even the neutering of the muscle car because of the oil crisis and emission control killed the love America has for, you guessed it, illegal street races. But there is one such race, the Cannonball run that has truly reached legendary proportions, because of its longevity.

So, here’s what you need to know about the Cannonball Run, and how it became America’s most popular above-board illegal street race. And now with cleverer drivers and sophisticated technology, the record time has shockingly shrunk down, which makes us eager to wait up for the next person to break the record!

Updated July 2022: We have updated this article with more astonishing facts on one of the world's most iconic illegal races, and information about the proud holders of the current Cannonball run records.

Cannonball Run Began With “Cannonball” Baker

Erwin George 'Cannon Ball' Baker The American Racing Driver
Via:  Indianapolismotorspeedway

Erwin George “Cannon Ball” Baker was a speed freak and a man who loved to ride, drive and make records on the road. He first began in May 1914 on his Indian motorcycle, setting out to break the transcontinental record starting in San Diego and ending in New York. He rode on unpaved roads, had planned his routes and gas fills ahead, and made the run in 11 and a half days. This was sheer planning and endurance.

In 1933, he set out again, this time doing a coast-to-coast drive in his Graham automobile, completing this drive in 53 hours, 30 minutes. At the time, this was not an illegal street race it wasn’t even a race. It was simply a great drive by a man who knew his wheels and made a record that stood for 38 long years.

Related: Here's The DL About The Mitsubishi Starion From Cannonball Run II

The Modern Cannonball: An Illegal Street Race

1981 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am in The Cannonball Run Movie 1981
Via: IMCDb

38 years later, Brock Yates, the senior editor for CarandDriver magazine decided to make it official. He called it the “Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash” and ran it with his son, Brock Yates Jr.

Two more autophiles, Steve Smith and Jim Williams joined in, and the quartet started from New York City in a 1971 Dodge Custom Sportsman van, they called it “Moon Trash II,” to drive across America.

The drive was still not a race but soon Yates made it one, and the unsanctioned, illegal street race came to be, starting in New York City and ending at the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach, California. Along with 1971, the Cannonball run happened in 1972, 1975, and then in 1979, and not only did it celebrate the greatness of the US highways but strangely, it also protested the 55 MPH top speed.

What were the rules? According to Yates, this illegal street race had no rules but for, “All competitors will drive any vehicle of their choosing, over any route, at any speed they judge practical, between the starting point and destination. The competitor finishing with the lowest elapsed time is the winner”.

Related: Here's How The Cannonball Run Record Has Improved Over The Years

Notable Cannonball Wins Over The Years

Brock Yates & Cannonball Run
Via: Twitter

On November 15, 1971, in the first unofficial illegal street race now known as Cannon Ball, Dan Gurney and Brock Yates drove a Ferrari Daytona coupe and broke Baker’s record, by finishing the run in 35 hours and 54 minutes. Finally, the last of the Cannonball illegal street races got the best record. Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough drove a Jaguar XJS to the win in 32 hours and 51 minutes, at average speeds of 97 MPH. This was the only race to begin in Darien, Connecticut.

Later, Yates stopped hosting the race, but the illegal street race continued, now called the U.S. Express. Many new records came to be, but things hit a literal roadblock in 1983, post the release of the 1981 movie, The Cannonball Run. Now, the police knew of it, and the race ended, with the last record of 32 hours and 7 minutes being held for 20 years.

For now, according to media reports, Fred Ashmore holds the record for the solo attempt, doing the run in a scary 25 hours and 55 minutes, in a rented Mustang GT at that. To his credit, he did cram the car full of fuel tanks and stopped only once to get fuel.

The Current Cannonball Run Records And Its Proud Holders

The current Cannonball record holders in one frame
Via: Alex Jones, Ryan Levenson, VInwiki YouTube

The current Cannonball record for gas-powered cars is still held by the smart trio of Doug Tabutt, Arnie Toman, and Berkeley Chadwick; who managed to finish the run in an unbeatable 25 hours and 39 minutes, almost an hour quicker than the previous record. They achieved this feat in a souped-up Audi S6 disguised as a Ford Taurus Police Interceptor.

The motorcycle run record is currently held by Alex Jones who completed the feat in 32 hours and 52 minutes on his 2014 Yamaha FJR1300. And as it is the age of EVs, we now officially have a "rouge EV" with a Tesla Model S finishing the run in 42 hours and 17 minutes. By the looks of it, this iconic and "illegal" run is here to stay!

Sources: Twitter, IMCDb, VinWiki Via YouTube