Cannonball Baker

   Sea-to-Shining Sea Run

   Nov. 17, 1971

    The three Poles finished in second place in their Chevy van, just 20 minutes behind Dan Gurney's Ferrari, in an actual coast-to-cost "run"


    The  first Cannonballs were clandestine.  But the secret leaked and top drivers like Tony and Dan Gurney bailed, fearing somebody would get hurt.  Eventually, the event became the subject of a comedic Hollywood movie, forever obscuring that it had once been a semi-serious political protest of the 55 mph speed limit.

Above:  Dan shows his astonishment when the hardy trio of Polish drivers pulled into the Portofino Inn at Redondo Beach just minutes later!


Under the rules set by Yates, the teams were allowed to pick their own vehicles and their own routes.  Tony's team, The Polish Racing Drivers of America, asserted its right to the "pole position" and left first.  Their Chevy van was equipped with five 55-gallon drums of fuel fed into the standard fuel tank through a specially fabricated system, a wide variety of spares and tools, a bunk for sleeping, a portable toilet, a portable telephone and an ample supply of Polish Kishkies.


Brock Yates refused to acknowledge the impropriety of winning an event he organized himself, and Gurney reportedly viewed this victory as among the more important in his illustrious driving career.  The only cash awards were those paid to the respective states whose laws were allegedly broken.


The leading ticket-takers were the third-place finishers who received six of those tickets, and narrowly escaped jail for allegedly stealing gasoline at one point in their journey to California in a brand new Cadillac - in a time of 36 hours and 56 minutes.  The Cadillac, by the way, was a "drive to deliver" type, they'd picked up in New York for delivery to an unsuspecting owner on the West Coast.

     But the law took it's toll.  Four of the eight teams received a total of 12 speeding tickets along the route. The most remarkable among them was a citation given to Gurney in Arizona, but over the years, he has adamantly refused  to talk about it.  Rumor has it, the delay was several hours.  Nevertheless, Dan Gurney and Brock Yates, editor of Car & Driver (on the right, below) drove their Ferrari Daytona across America, completing the transcontinental trip in a record total elapsed time of 35 hours and 54 minutes.

Dan Gurney's Ferrari:  Coast to coast in less than 36 hours.

Tony's Chevy van finished 2nd, just 20 minutes later and ticket-free "because we remained within the speed limit at all times."

At the end, the drivers are trying to smile

At the beginning, Tony Adamowicz, Brad Niemcek, and Oscar Koveleski are all smiles.

Dave Deal's wonderful art work, published in the PRDA newsletter


             PRDA Cannonball Run -  " Van World Record Holder"

                         Coast to Coast 36 hours, 40 Minutes

Tony Adamowicz, Gary Wheeler, Tony a2z, Tony Adamowics, a2zRacer, Gary Wheeler, Tony Adamowicz

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