Brock Yates’ Cannonball! is an interesting automotive history lesson on the five cross-country races that define long-distance road rally. Yates, who organized the five events (running in 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, and 1979), provided the historical background and presented a very technical history of the races, which I found interesting, but pretty lifeless. Fortunately, he also invited other Cannonball Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash participants to write up their stories and accounts, which adds much-needed flavor to the book. Jack May’s description of his 1975 victory (1973 Ferrari Dino 246GTS, co-driven by Rick Cline) is a highlight—his zip!-whoosh!-bang! journal writing style really puts color into the narrative.
What is amazing is how low-key the actual running of the event really was, and how low the average speeds tended to be. Outside of the winners, average speeds including stops were in the range of 70-80 mph. Heck, I can run those speeds in my Neon these days, though to even have a chance at sustaining them I’d need an extra fuel cell (range is everything).
Overall, pretty good book that has entertained me thoroughly. Between the “priests” and the TransCon MediVac, and tales of drive-aways and Ferraris, I don’t see how any movie could top the real thing.
For the record, I’ve never seen any of the relevant films inspired by the races, though I’d like to see Cannonball Run just because it’s “official.” However, as Yates noted in the book, I can see where Steve McQueen would have been a better choice for the film. I think it’s time for me to watch Bullitt again.
- (Current Book)To Engineer is Human, Henry Petroski
- Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway
- Life of Pi, Yann Martel
- Restoring the Lost Constitution, Randy Barnett
- Candide, Voltaire
