Jack May appreciates vintage Corvettes and Porsches as much as any enthusiast. They’re iconic, he’s owned many and he still drives them. But none are as revered as the vehicle the retired U.S. Army Ranger, long-time real estate developer and race car driver is about to sell.
Fifty years ago, May, now age 89 and Rick Cline, now 87, drove a 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS from Red Ball Garage in New York City to Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach in 35 hours and 53 minutes.
The team completed the 2,951-mile haul while averaging 83 miles per hour. It’s often called the Cannonball Run. The official name for the unofficial trek is the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. The Cannonball reference is the nickname given by George Baker, a vaudeville performer, pioneering motorcycle racer and event promoter in the 1920s.
The infamous, illegal Cannonball Run was held five times, emulated many times and is still often talked about since it was last held in 1979.
Among many Ferraris and other rarities, the car May and Cline drove will be for sale at Mecum Auctions Monterey. The three-day event, one of a half-dozen auctions during Monterey Auto Week, is scheduled Aug. 14-16 at the Hyatt Regency Resort and the adjacent Del Monte Golf Course.
“I know I am going to cry when it goes,” said May in a recent telephone interview. “I’ve owned it since November 1973, set the record in it, driven it all these years and loved it.”
The recording-setting team remained friends for many years until it was geographically challenging. May lives in Texas and Florida. Cline left Florida for Georgia and is in declining health.
Sold under the Dino marque between 1967 and 1974, the 206 GT, 246 GT and 246 GTS are V6 mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports cars. The vehicles were the first Ferraris manufactured in substantial quantities; about 3,600 were made, including 1,274 GTS models. They’re often cited among the top sports cars of the 1970s.
May bought his Ferrari new. Less than two years later, he was driving it across the country. The legend of the high-speed haul involves avoiding (and sometimes not avoiding) law enforcement and incidents with wayward jackrabbits. Mechanical issues were common. Driving fast mattered most.
May wasn’t asked his car’s purchase price or a predicted selling price. Hemmings Motor News, the renowned classic and exotic car magazine, notes the Dinos of the era cost about $15,000 new.
“The main reason I’m selling it is that I’m getting to be an old man,” said May. “But also the mechanic who has taken care of the car all of its life is in her 70s. I’d rather have the car out there being enjoyed by everybody.”
There were problems during the record run, a fuel leak to a fouled spark plug. The duo was briefly arrested by an Ohio State Patrol officer who eventually provided help.
“Mecum showed more lasting interest in selling the car than some of the other brokers,” May said of the pending auction he plans to attend. “It’s sort of a friendship situation; I think they can sell it as well if not better than anyone else.”
The Cannonball Run’s legend was the impetus for the 1981 action-comedy film of the same name and starring Burt Reynolds.
In recent years, documentaries have also been made about various record cross-country attempts, including the 2019 project “APEX: The Secret Race Across America.”
“There have been plenty of similar adventures, but it’s sort of a completely different thing,” said May. “It’s now people running completely independently and many of those people have been known to cheat. My record is at least officially certified.
“It’s a record that cannot be broken. Now, the time might be broken and presumably people have driven it faster. But some of those guys have used helicopters and advanced cars to see if the cops are up there. We just drove the car.”
James Raia, a syndicated automotive columnist in Sacramento, also contributes business, lifestyle and sports content to several print and online publications. E-mail: james@jamesraia.com.