Tommy Thomas's Third Attempt at the Cannonball Record in a Cadillac Blackwing

The Cannonball Dream

• 💡 The speaker's dream of participating in the Cannonball Run began in 1981 but was postponed due to career and family responsibilities.
• 🚀 After retiring, the speaker pursued this dream, initially planning with a Corvette, but switched to a 2022 Cadillac CT4V Blackwing for its efficiency and practicality.

First and Second Attempts

• 🎯 The first run, with his son as co-pilot, resulted in a time of 33 hours and 16 minutes, highlighting challenges like rush hour traffic and unexpected weather.
• 🤝 A second attempt with a different co-pilot yielded a decent, but not record-breaking, performance.

Breaking the Record

• 🗓️ Following advice from Cannonball historian Jay Roberts, the speaker targeted Columbus Day weekend for optimal conditions.
• ⏱️ The successful run, starting early Sunday morning and finishing Monday morning, was completed in 30 hours and 36 minutes, narrowly missing the sub-30-hour goal but achieving a benchmark of under 30 hours.
• 🚗 The Cadillac Blackwing, with no modifications from the factory, achieved an average of 14.4 MPG and reached speeds of 187 mph.

Challenges and Tactics

• ⚠️ The journey involved navigating numerous obstacles, including black ice, accidents, construction, and significant traffic delays.
• 👮‍♂️ To avoid issues with law enforcement, the car was modified to appear more