31hrs 59 min– New York to LA Ferrari Chat, The following is a press release regarding the new Coast-to-Coast record. The record was broken in a 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello - Color: Nero Daytona (rumored to be the only one painted that color). Owner: Dennis Collins of Dallas, Texas. Bullrun 2007 – Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins Break Coast-to-Coast Record In the early hours of Monday 14th May 2007, Bullrunners Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins of Texas broke the almost 30 year old coast-to-coast road trip record of 32 hours and 51 minutes. They decided to attempt the record after taking a bet on the start line of the 2007 Bullrun Rally. They were bet $50,000 by a fellow entrant that this time would never be bettered in the modern era. Abandoning this years route of Montreal to Key West, they drove to New York City and prepared for a night start. Brock Yates created the idea modern rally when he started the infamous Cannonball Runs. Since then Bullrun has taken on the mantel of the modern navigational rally replacing out and out point to point racing with their version of luxury car rallies including celebrities and drivers from around the world and a huge TV franchise supporting the Bullrun brand. In 1979, the winning Jaguar XJS achieved an incredible time of 32hrs 51 minutes from New York to the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach. Many thought this legendary 'Sea to Shining Sea' endurance time would never be beaten and indeed has proved unbreakable until now…. Having already heavily prepared their Ferrari 550 for this years' Bullrun Rally, Montreal to Key West, they felt they had a real chance to challenging the time. With extra fuel cells and an onboard spare tire they left Manhattan on the evening of May 12 th. They phoned their wives, who promptly flew to LA to greet the would be champions. Having created motoring history, Dennis and Richard are expected to catch up with Rally in time for the celebrations in Key West.
I-80 Route(for the most part)? No tickets?(I guess not, it might have cost a night) How does one document future attempts? Makes my 44hr. +/- in a Z kid stuff!
Wow. That is incredible. I really never thought anyone would beat Yarborough and Heinz record. Good for them.
outrageous speed. We did SF to Daytona in 79 in 47 hours, and we were hauling. Did have 2 bikes, 3 guys in the Van though. Art
I'm actually on Bullrun this year doing a lot of the blogging with a friend of mine and we have been speaking to Dennis and Richard constantly. Dennis is especially proud of the fact that the record was beaten in a Ferrari. The official Bullrun blog is a great place to follow along for all updates regarding everything about Bullrun 2007 including the world record being broken. http://www.Bullrun2007.com
I calculate an average speed of 88 MPH. They must have been flying most of the time. In this day in age I don't know whether that's just dumb or really dumb. Oh well, glad they made it safely.
Wow....just WOW! Having read Yates' book on the original Cannonball, imagining this being pulled off in 2007 is simply stunning. Given the now greatly increased traffic, suburban sprawl around every city, increased radar/laser speed patrols, etc compared to the 70's, this makes it all the more remarkable. And an 88 mph average speed!?!? To hold that coast-to-coast is phenomenal, not to mention requiring balls of steel. I have often thought about the best way to break the old cannonball record, and I think one KEY aspect is to have as few fuel stops as possible. Maybe have two fuel fillers so you could fuel out of two pumps at once and cut your refueling time in half. Anyone who has ever kept up with their average speed on a long drive knows how your average just plummets every minute you are sitting still. A 10 minute stop could mean you were suddenly 15 MILES behind another car that didn't have to stop. The article said they had extra fuel cells, I would be very curious to know how many fuel stops they made.
Old School baby! Now that's what I'm talking about. Congrats to Richard and Dennis. Say, did they start at Red Ball?
I don't suppose they had any time to make some video? Amazing time, and it's great that it's in a Ferrari. That time should stick for the rest of time.
Wow. I did Culver City Los Angeles, to Washington D.C 3 years back leaving Friday at 8pm and getting into Bethesda Maryland at 12 noon Sunday. I did this in an 88 Porsche 928s4 and a co driver. Car ran 400 miles to the tank (22 gallon tank in the 928s4) and the rythym we established is I'd drive two tank fulls and she would drive one while I slept. I turned the car off once the entire trip.
As Nathan says it is quite an achievement in this day and age BUT Is there any level of independent verification ? Please note I'm not trying to call their bluff - I would prefer it to be a record that stands
"Since Richard and Dennis were on the Bullrun their car was fitted with multiple cameras. The start and end points were chosen with extreme care. A camera crew was sent to New York City and they were met with a camera crew at the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach with them to document their trip. A conference call regarding all footage and information took place today. All is in order. " Outstanding achievement, and apparently legit. Can't wait to see the footage! -Tad
Wow!! Very cool!! Glad they made it safely. Can someone please tell me how many miles from NY-LA please?
It's interesting how back in the day the truckers used CB radios to drop a dime on them. http://www.32hours7minutes.com/trailer_large.htm
Hello Pap: The distance is about 2800-2900 miles. That is driving the shortest distance (miles) The distance will change using different interstates, heading southwest outta NY instead of due west. I would think they took US 80 and not US 70. If you can avoid 70 through Missouri, that is a good idea.
Alex Roy, from Polizei144 (BullRun, Gumball, etc) is having a hard time believing it..: http://www.fastlanedaily.com/
I did LA to NY in 55 hours back in 1992 in my friend Datsun 200SX, no Air Conditioner....beat that. By the way, the last 5 hours of the trip were spent in traffic on the Belt Parkway. Jim
I always thought (mistakenly?) that the old record was held by Brock Yates and Dan Gurney in a Ferrari Daytona. Maybe that was just the Cannonball win. Edit: Gurney and Yates arrived at the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach, California, on November 17, 1971, just 35 hours and 54 minutes after leaving the Red Ball Garage 2,876 miles ago. With stops, average speed was 80.8 mph.