I recently learned that a piece of American lore has been withheld from me and it has me feeling left out. How is it no one told me that the Cannonball Run is real?

Hailing from 1981 the movie The Cannonball Run was an over the top farce about teams speeding from coast to coast in an unsanctioned and illegal road race. The racers use a number of visually comic and implausible vehicles in this movie that has more in common with cartoon animation than cinema.  I have seen the movie and it is a silly comedy that was a pleasurable was to pass an hour and a half, which also has the distinct of the introduction to American Cinema of Jackie Chan, though he is criminally underused in a stereotypical and borderline racist character.

Recently as I have explored new podcasts to listen to while working I discovered that the film is based on an actual race. While the characters and the exaggerated cars are products of Hollywood there is an illegal competition for the fastest time driving between New York and Los Angeles. The current winning time is 28 hours and 50 minutes with the driver and his team averaging over 1000 miles per hour throughout the entire trip.

The podcast with the story is It Seemed Smart, and it is dedicated to wacky stories from the field of sports. Yes it is odd that I found myself listening to a sports podcast but this one is certainly worth the time. The first episode I listened to was the one about the Cannonball Run and the current record holder. However the other episodes dealing with cheating in professional baseball and college football are also quite amusing, but it’s the race that stays with me.