Brave Soul Uses Rental Mustang GT to Destroy Cannonball Record
Where do you draw the line between madness and genius for illegal speed records?
The wildly illegal and intriguing world of Cannonball cross-country records has another alleged entry. In these new and unprecedented times of massive quarantine every Tom, Dick, and Harry with access to a set of car keys is attempting a run, and quite frankly it doesn’t feel newsworthy anymore. But trust us, you actually want to hear about this one. The fine folks over at Road and Track have put out a piece about a new potential solo Cannonball record, and the details of the run are equal parts idiotic and amazing.
First let’s hit the numbers. We have one man, in one car, driving 2800 miles across the US. He did it in 25 hours and 55 minutes, and he only stopped for fuel once. That is an average of 108 mph. But none of that is even the most impressive part because…
He did the whole run for less than $3000, including the car. We told you this one was worth paying attention to.
Instead of spending time creating some sort of cop-proof car, or buying an expensive German car, Ashmore went full galaxy-brain and used the fastest car in the world, a rental. Ashmore hit up a car rental fleet to snag a silver Mustang GT. From there he ripped out the seats and the interior of the trunk, stuffed the whole thing full of gas tanks he bought used on Facebook, and that was basically it. Inside the car he had little more than a tablet running Waze, an iPhone for timing, a laser jammer, radar detector, and a CB radio.
The only piece of “proper” preparation Ashmore made was to set up his own fueling station. A set of friends with a truck holding a 150 gallon tank met him off I-44 to complete the only stop on the trip. We wish we could explain just how monumental this sort of time really is. We’ve made several long distance drives over the years, including a timed LA to NYC journey, and it’s mentally and physically abusive. Our cross-country trip was done with a team, and even with all the extra hands on board to take care of things, it felt like an impossible task. To see one man make it happen with little more than grit and determination, while destroying a record time, is a special sort of madness.
We can’t say we condone this sort of driving. Rolling down the highway at triple digit speeds in what is essentially a giant bomb, while fighting sleep deprivation, is beyond stupid and dangerous. It is a miracle that all of these new Cannonball attempts haven’t gotten anybody killed. That said, it sure makes for a good story.
Photos: Fred Ashmore
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