Anyone ever seriously look into attempting this?

I know all about this feat but hadn't thought about it in a while. Then one of my best friends from college called me yesterday to tell me he did it over Memorial Day weekend with 3 other buddies and 2 vehicles.

2800 miles in roughly 35 hours. They modified both vehicles to increase fuel carrying capacity by an extra 40 gallons each and only stopped for fuel twice.

One vehicle was a 1998 Mercedes Benz S420. The other, a minivan rental (which I found hilarious).

Either way, I'm quite impressed.

5/26/2015 2:05:09 PM

Wow

What route did they do?

5/26/2015 2:26:58 PM

combination of radar detectors and waze? why not just pile everyone in the minivan?

5/26/2015 3:24:53 PM

^^Not sure.

^Yup, they had 2 detectors and Waze. Also had a GoPro mounted on the dash to record everything.

^Not really sure but 4 people wouldn't work in one vehicle. 3rd row of the minivan was full of extra fuel tanks. I think they took 2 vehicles in case one broke down, or if one vehicle was nailed by the police and said vehicle was impounded. Another thing to consider is that with 2 vehicles and 4 people you can always have one person as a full time spotter and one person sleeping full time. Though you could do that in one minivan with 3 people. Maybe 1-2 of the fellas were a late addition. My thinking at least.

Before I could get all the details my call with him was disconnected. He was driving back from LA to his home in eastern NM. (imagine how much that drive had to suck, haha)

[Edited on May 26, 2015 at 4:54 PM. Reason : k]

5/26/2015 4:51:59 PM

I was sitting outside drinking a glass of wine on Rodeo drive in Beverly Hills last week and over heard the conversation of this guy at the table beside me (who has his Ferrari 458 parked on the curb btw) about the Gumball Rally and how all these celebs like Tommy Lee Jones, Afrojack and even the pro driver Hamilton all run in the Gumball. He refers to them as Gumballers. Evidently the starting entry fee is $70k

5/26/2015 5:19:38 PM

sounds like they were talking about the Gumball 3000, which is different than the Cannonball Run

5/26/2015 7:02:46 PM

Fun fact: Sparky's post mentions Gumball twice

5/26/2015 10:23:08 PM

Gumball 3000 is awesome.

It was 40k 4 years ago when i looked into it.

5/27/2015 7:47:44 AM

Tommy Lee Jones eh? Pretty sure the 68 year old actor doesn't take part in these. Now Tommy Lee, the Motley Crue drummer...yes

5/27/2015 8:28:59 AM

Quote :

"Fun fact: Sparky's post mentions Gumball twice"

fun fact: the Gumball Rally is a movie with a NY to CA race which is based on the cannonball run, it's very different than the Gumball 3000. He was talking about an international car festival for rich people in a thread about driving cross country as fast as possible .

5/27/2015 11:31:56 AM

I thought about doing the gumball at one point in my life. I was about 21 years old and felt invincible.

I wouldn't pay that kind of money for that kind trip. but if you've got the money to blow, then have at it!

5/28/2015 7:59:27 PM

you missed all the fun, there are a ton of rules now

5/29/2015 8:25:27 AM

http://jalopnik.com/twelve-reasons-why-the-gumball-3000-is-over-dead-real-1707331414

Quote :

"Speed limits must always be complied with and may not exceed 130 km/h (80mph) during the whole journey through Germany, even on legs with no speed restrictions."

lol

5/29/2015 8:49:05 AM

http://allamericanracers.com/first-cannonball-run/

All about the original, won by Dan Gurney and Brock Yates.

7/6/2015 8:40:28 AM