Latest news with #CannonballBaker
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
This 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS Won the NY-to-LA Cannonball Dash 50 Years Ago. Now You Can Buy It
read the full story In 1975, Jack May and Rick Cline drove this Ferrari from New York to Los Angeles in 35 hours and 53 minutes, winning that year's Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. Fifty years ago, this Dino made a record-setting run. Owner Jack May and co-driver Rick Cline averaged 83 mph driving from New York to Los Angeles. This plaque commemorates their achievement. After 50 years, Jack May is only now selling his car. The Dino is in unrestored condition. Because they'd be driving flat-out, May and Cline turned the tachometer to put the redline in a more visible position. In Wichita, Kansas, the team had to perform some emergency repairs. The parts receipt is still affixed to the car. Keep scrolling to see more pictures of this historic Dino. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Historic 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS Cannonball Winner Heads to Mecum Auction in Monterey
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector A piece of American automotive lore is set to cross the auction block as the legendary 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS that conquered the 1975 Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash will be offered at Mecum's Monterey 2025 auction on August 16. The Bianco Polo White Dino, chassis number 05984, was driven to victory by SCCA racer Jack May and co-driver Rick Cline, who blasted from New York to Los Angeles in 35 hours and 53 minutes—a world-record time at the event. Averaging 83 mph, the feat landed the duo in the pages of TIME Magazine and cemented their place in automotive history. Still owned by the May family, the car remains in highly original, unrestored condition, showing 50,819 miles. Evidence of its famed cross-country run remains intact, including handwritten trunk markings and even spark plug packaging taped to the trunk wall from the 1975 journey. May, who chose the Dino over his Ferrari Daytona for its more discreet profile, pushed the V6-powered coupe to its limits, enduring a fouled spark plug, a fuel leak, a brush with Arizona jackrabbits, and even a brief arrest in Ohio. 'That Ohio cop was a super guy,' May recalled. 'I think he was sympathetic—he even showed us the fastest way back to the Interstate.' Mechanically, the Dino remains as it was when May raced it, retaining its 2.4-liter DOHC V6, 5-speed manual transaxle, and minor Cannonball-era tweaks such as wiper flaps for high-speed downforce and a rotated tachometer for easier viewing at speed. One of just 1,274 GTS models built, the Pininfarina-designed, Scaglietti-bodied Dino remains an icon of both Italian design and American outlaw spirit. Expected to draw strong interest, it represents a rare opportunity to own not just a classic Ferrari, but a bona fide chapter of Cannonball history. This amazing Ferrari Dino is selling at Mecum's Daytime Auction in Monterey, California. There will be many amazing vehicles to choose from and you can see them here. To register to bid visit Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fact Check: A look at Past NASCAR Commissioners Before Steve Phelps
Earlier this week, NASCAR officials named Steve Phelps as its "first Commissioner." A check of the records, however, shows at least seven others have held the title of Commissioner within the racing body. That list includes Cannonball Baker, Harley Earle (ever hear of the Harley J. Earle Trophy that goes to the Daytona 500 winner?), and former Ford Motor Company President Bunkie Knudsen. The recent announcement that NASCAR has named former president Steve Phelps as its 'first Commissioner in 77 years' brought more than a few raised eyebrows from those old-timers familiar with the organization and its history.'First Commissioner?' Are you sure?Does the name Cannonball Baker (pictured above, left) ring a bell? Or Harley Earle? Or Mendel Rivers, Tom Adams, Bunkie Knudsen, Charles Stang, or John Middlebrook? By unofficial count—records are somewhat sketchy beyond 2010—those men previously held the title 'Commissioner of NASCAR' and served almost unnoticed, most of them for only a few years. Baker, a long-time friend of the France family, was the first Commissioner in 1947. It was largely a ceremonial and honorary title—but a title nonetheless—that has now been passed down seven times. Earle, for whom the Daytona 500 trophy is named, was next. Southern politicians Mendel Rivers (R-SC) and Tom Adams (D-Fla.) each had brief stints as Commissioner. Knudsen, Stang, and Middlebrook were the most recent before Monday's introduction of Phelps.'We are thrilled to name Steve Phelps as NASCAR's first Commissioner,' NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. 'His leadership, professionalism, and well-earned respect from across the sports industry speak to his unique value for the sport. With more than 50 years of expertise between them, both Steve Phelps and (new NASCAR president) Steve O'Donnell bring tremendous expertise, stability and a commitment to the bold racing innovations that will continue to serve fans, teams and stakeholders for many years to come.' Of the group named above, Knudsen had the longest tenure, serving from 1978-1998. The former GM and Ford executive, who even served as president of Ford, wasn't an every-race-weekend sort of official, but his looming, shadowy presence over the business/sport was undeniable. He was close to the Frances and almost always ruled the way the family wanted. In time, the role as 'Commissioner of NASCAR' morphed from a largely ceremonial, honorary, powerless one into being the powerful final stop in any disciplinary process. Teams or drivers facing fines or suspensions for rules violation could eventually ask for him to review any lower-appeal that had been denied. Not surprisingly, the Commissioner at the time almost rarely sided with the gave NASCAR an 'out' when it needed to uphold its traditional disciplinary procedures. In effect, the Commissioner could take the heat for upholding or softening a team's fine or penalty. It there was public or in-garage outrage about a denied appeal, NASCAR could always point at the Commissioner and say, 'it was his call, not ours.'With Phelps now in charge—he'll presumably wield that same power—the chances of teams or drivers overturning lower-appeal decisions remain almost zero.
