Alex Roy, Breaking the Cross-Country Driving Record

The October issue of Wired Magazine has a great article by Charles Graeber “The Pedal-to-the-Metal, Totally Illegal, Cross-Country Sprint for Glory”, about Gumball 3000 champion Alex Roy, who broke the cross-country driving record of 32 hours, 7 minutes from New York to Santa Monica, originally set by by David Diem and Doug Turner in 1983 during the US Express (formerly known as the Cannonball Run).

Gravid Films is currently in production on “32 Hours 7 Minutes”, a documentary by Cory Welles about the 1983 US Express, where the 32H 7M record was set.

October 15, 1983. The sun is setting, the gas is topped and it’s time for one last run in the most outrageous road race in American history. Formerly the Cannonball Run, the US Express gathers the best of the best, to speed nonstop from New York to Los Angeles, in a race where the only rule is there are no rules. These real-life, 32-hour outlaws drive over the limit and under the radar with one thing in their sights: becoming the fastest humans to ever cross the continent. Irreverent and gripping, this feature documentary chronicles the last great American outlaw race.

Will Wright, creator of the games SimCity, The Sims and the upcoming Spore, was the winner of the 1980 US Express.

The original inspiration for Alex Roy’s cross-country runs was the 1976 short film “C’était un rendez-vous”, an insane high-speed drive through the streets of Paris.