The Express Starting Garage
Here’s a clip of Larry Wilson talking about the US Express. This is by far the best description I have heard of the jitters/excitement conjured up sitting in the car pre-race. Salut, my good man.
Archive for the '(1980-1983) U.S. Express' Category
Here‘s an interesting document I unearthed from the 1982 US Express. I think it’s cool to see all of the paperwork and preparation that went into providing a safe and responsible atmosphere within the construct of a top speed illegal road race. I think it really gives credit to these guys, that they weren’t just recklessly flying across the country; this was something they wanted to do, and wanted to do it in a way that was not going to be disruptive (well, more than necessary) to those oblivious to its existence.
(photo taken by Michael Hollander at the US Express)
US Express and Cannonball photographer, Michael Hollander, has passed away from cancer. Included is footage from the ’75 Cannonball, the finish of the ’83 US Express, and a recent interview Cory did with him for 32 Hours 7 Minutes. Although the time had not been officially calculated (Hollander tells Diem and Turner their time was 32:15), Hollander is the one to announce in ’83 that a new record had been set, which turned out to be the impetus for this film. I’ve included some words from Rick Doherty, US Express organizer and Cannonball participant, as well as Davey Johnson, a friend of Michael’s:
Continue reading ‘Michael Hollander, Cannonball Express Photographer, Passes Away’
Rules?! Really?! Well, sort of. Guidelines more so. The rules were pretty loose, but it’s nice to see that safety/respect for others on the road made the list. Not sure he meant that part about complying with the laws of each state, though. Here are Rick Doherty’s "guidelines" for the 1981 event.
I’ve always wanted to be out on the lamb, running from the cops, and just generally being a badass. Unfortunately, I have a bad knee and am scared of high speeds. Instead, I try to live vicariously through the participants of the U.S. Express.
Continue reading ‘Wanted for being an Extreme Badass: David Morse’
This is a great one from some boys in the US Express:
"The sneaky-Pete award went to a last minute entry: George Lloyd from Austin, and his clever partner Ron Docie, from LA. George and Ron left M.Y. with a six-hour-old new rear-end in a Turbo Trans Am."
Imagine coming across this puppy while searching for free pencil-sharpeners in the Daily Examiner and saying, "yeah, jeez, that does sound like a good idea. Count me in!" I can’t imagine that because I’m soft, but I do think it’s pretty cool that this was just slotted in there with the rest of the junk you might want to fill your attic with.
Putting oneself through a sleepless high-speed coast-to-coast dash is a Herculean challenge to both mind and body. The men and women who competed in the transcontinental races in the 70′s and 80′s all shared an unequivocable passion: to push themselves to the utter limit of their sport. One racer, George Egloff, stands out to me (and to most of the other competitors) as a sort of icon in the sport of long distance driving….
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What? I don’t look serious to you?
Alex had a night-vision thermal camera installed into the grill of the M5. The initial thought was driving at night, sans lights of any sort, using only an in-dash screen, and thus obtaining ultimate stealth. This turned out to be super dangerous. Surprise! The camera wasn’t deemed useless, though, as they could still spot a cop hiding in a highway median in the dark of night. Another more aggressive option that some drivers employed back in the Cannonball and Express days was night vision goggles/binoculars. The maniac pictured above used infra-red goggles while at the wheel in the 4-ball rally, an early 80’s Express knock-off run from Boston to San Diego. Call me crazy, but this, for some reason, also looks incredibly dangerous.
photo: [Road-Race Outlaws, The Plain Dealer, 9/18/83]
