Balls. "Cannon Ball" Baker had them for the simple reason that he set so many of his early records on a motorcycle. The man pictured here, George Egloff, had them, too. He did one Cannonball and four U.S. Express runs on a motorcycle, four of those five races he did solo. And for him, they were mere warm-ups compared to his other feats of endurance. Click here for the full story and video clips.
U.S. Express driver, Mack Howard, got this warning during his run in ‘82. Cannonball and U.S. Express drivers considered Ohio one of the toughest states to speed through. He would go on to get two real tickets within three hours of receiving it. Check out his sweet RX-7 with the giant air dam.
Want to know what it took to join the U.S. Express back in 1980? Organizers of similar underground illegal races today sure could learn a thing or two from Express organizer Rick Doherty and the boys. Check out 32 Hours 7 Minutes Assistant Editor Adam Bedient’s production blog, then take a look at the acceptance letters…
Oh yeah…I almost forgot. Cory Welles has suggested - maybe - and I’m praying this is true - that the U.S. Express logo depicted above will make its way to the official 3207 movie T-shirts sometime. Soon.
31:04 co-pilot, David Maher, takes us on a lap of Watkins Glen in his 993 Turbo. The car runs on a significantly stiffer and heavily re-inforced suspension set up along with Recaro race seats. Engine is stock but Maher feels it’s a bit down on power after 50K miles, most of them on the track. Tires are Michelin Pilot Sport Cups on BBS wheels. Note the telemetry, nice touch. What you can’t see, unfortunately, is his authentic Ricky Bobby race suit.
Alex Roy and Polizei 144B will be at Prestige BMW’s M Car Event on Wednesday, June 18th, to sign books and to check out a gathering of local and regional M cars. He’ll be there from 5 - 8pm. See you there!
The New York International Auto Show brings together automotive enthusiasts of every stripe and level of interest. Hardy souls journeyed from as far afield as Austria, Sweden and Virginia to check out Polizei Interceptor 144B and chat about our jovial, demented brand of law enforcement. Sadly, inevitably, some folks were either ill-informed about the goings-on in the automotive world or — at the extreme end of things — complete and utter dunderheaded Ostrogoths when it came to cars, the law and life and how to live it. Of Visigoth persuasion ourselves — especially Mme. Lau — we enjoyed a few hearty chuckles at their expense. Come along, won’t you, and peruse our list of sublime, stupid, and outright head-scratch-frenzy-inducing quotes from the show after the jump.
I was a guest last night on CBC’s "The Hour", a late-night Canadian talk show hosted by former DJ/VJGeorge Stroumboulopoulos. About 50% less political and 80% less scripted than The Daily Show, I wish it aired south of the border, and not just because I was given free reign all day to shoot the most free-wheeling, un-censored series of interviews in Team Polizei history. The best part is, I completely forgot to mention the name of my book or Cory Welles’ movie. The main interview with George aired live last night, and the others - including my un-planned, un-scripted, un-rehearsed nine minute riff on Rendezvous - should go up on their official site within a day or two. (I sure hope my jet lag, quad-shot coffee and cold weren’t too obvious.)