It started with one wild idea: drive across the country as fast as possible—and make it a protest. In the early 1970s, amid anti-war marches, civil rights uprisings, and a new wave of environmental regulation, Car and Driver’s Brock Yates declared war on what he saw as government overreach. This episode dives into the political tensions that lit the fuse, his opposition to the Clean Air Act and EPA, and how a secret trial run in 1971 gave way to the very first Cannonball Run race. As the Cannonball commenced, so did the controversy—with fan letters, angry critics, and the beginning of a legend.

This series was created and produced by Mallory Keenoy.

Executive Producer: Tom Keenoy.

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