(ROAD & TRACK) There’s a new record in Cannonball land: Drivers Arne Toman and Doug Tabbutt announced today that they completed the cross-country drive from New York City to Los Angeles in 25 hours, 39 minutes, narrowly beating a claimed “sub-26-hour” record publicized in May and besting their own record of 27 hours, 25 minutes that was announced in November 2019.
Toman and Tabbutt’s November attempt kicked off a spate of copycat record-chasers, many of whom took advantage of reduced traffic during COVID lockdown to set cross-country times that would seem impossible under normal driving conditions. An unnamed trio wedged a giant auxiliary fuel tank in the trunk of an Audi A8 and claimed a 26 hour, 38 minute record in April, and in June, Fred Ashmore took a rental Ford Mustang GT crammed full of fuel tanks to a 25 hour, 55 minute solo record. In a press release, Toman and Tabbutt claim that five new records have been set since their November 2019 run.
