| justinsain |
11-08-2011 07:04 AM |
I was taking pictures Sunday as the cars drove in to park for the show and this man cam up to me and wanted to know what the little camera I had was ( GoPro Hero HD ) He said that would be perfect for his car. I asked what he was driving and he said a Ferrari Dino. I then asked him where he was coming from and he said Gainesville. I said " you didn't drive it here did you " and he replied that he would have if he could but he had a little engine problem so he didn't want to risk it. I said " That's a pretty long drive anyway " and he looked at me and with a twinkle in his eye said he once drove it from New York City to Los Angeles non stop. Then he pulled a sign out of his trunk and stuck it in the grass next to his Dino.
He is Jack May who along with Rick Cline drove this Ferrari Dino 2,890 miles from NYC to SoCal's Redondo Beach in 35 hours 53 minutes beating the previous transcontinental record set by Dan Gurney by one minute.
The event they drove in was the 1975 Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining -Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. This event captured prominent media attention including Hollywood which went on to make " Cannonball Run " which was loosely based on the exploits of Jack and Rick and their record setting race across America.
Having had the chance to look at the actual car they drove and see the way the two bucket seats lay on the floorboard its hard to imagine them driving so far and so fast like that. They literally were flat out driving.
I had the pleasure of chatting with him most of the morning and hearing a few stories I opened the door for him to tell. He is a colorful character with modesty. A trait rarely found in today's personalities. Lots of great cars at the show but this chance meeting made my day :)
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