Yes, there will be cars and coffee and food. But there will also be music, trophies, raffles, autographs (autographs?) and more. On Sunday, October 8th, at 9:30 am, during our normal Cars and Coffee Darien event, we will take some time to dedicate a brass plaque commemorating Goodwives Shopping Center and the Lock, Stock, & Barrel restaurant as the starting location of the last real Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash on April 1st, 1979.
Come join us and meet some of the real-life Cannonballers and cars that inspired two movies.
The 1981 film Cannonball Run movie was largely based on the exploits of the real-life people who participated in the race that left the Lock, Stock, and Barrel in Darien in April 1979. The movie, written by Brock Yates and directed by Hal Needham, starred some of the biggest names in Hollywood: Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Adrienne Barbeau, Terry Bradshaw, Peter Fonda, Jamie Farr, Mel Tillis, Bianca Jagger, and many others. Cannonball Run was a huge hit and inspired the sequel Cannonball Run II in 1984.
So far, we’ve confirmed that more than a dozen of those Cannonballers will be attending this dedication, including:
- Pamela Yates, who was the real-life passenger in the Dodge Transcon Medi-van; in the movie, she was played by actress Farrah Fawcett
- Brock Yates Jr., who is the youngest person ever to compete in a Cannonball. He was 14 years old, riding in the back seat of the Moontrash II Dodge Van in the second Cannonball
- Judy Stropus who, along with Donna Mae Mims and Peggi Niemcheck, was a member of the “Right Bra” racing team. She was played in the movie by actress Adrienne Barbeau
- Wendy Epstein, who made the trip on 2 wheels. She rode a Suzuki 850 Motorcycle
- Also…Steven Fog (’79 Trans Am), John Harrison (’79 Lotus Esprit), Gero Hoschek (’79 Jensen Interceptor), Rick Kopec (’65 Shelby GT350), Jim Mullen (Ferrari SWB), Chuck Schmitt (’79 Eldorado), and Brad Niemcek, a veteran of Cannonballs 2, 3, and 4 (Dodge and Ford vans).
There will be food, coffee (of course) and music. We’ll be raffling off 6 Cannonball Run DVDs signed by all of the original racers in attendance. The original 1972 Dodge Challenger that Brock Yates drove will be on display as will these two (below) newer Cannonball record holders, and a bunch of other Cannonball cars. And many of the racers will be available for photos and autographs.
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