| bad dog racing |
Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:01 am |
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"The PopSICKle 3000" - New York to San Francisco in 48 Hours or Less
Press Release
December 25, 2009
BeetleBall 48 Coast to Coast Inaugural Trophy Dash
a.k.a. The PopSICKle 3000
On December 19th, 2009 in the dead of winter, drivers Jim Ferguson (San Francisco, CA) and Nick DeAvila (Hermosa Beach, CA) along with support crew members Greg Urrutia (Sacramento, CA), and Jeff Copelan (Portland, OR), completed the first documented non-stop transcontinental crossing of the U.S.A. in the unlikely land speed vehicle, a 1970 Volkswagen Bug. In a record establishing time of 43 hours, 53 minutes and 36 seconds, the event, which left New York City at the site of Ground Zero across the river from the Statue of Liberty covered 3036 miles with an average speed of 66.7MPH
Departing at 11:11 AM, in cold but clear weather, the team soon accessed Interstate 80 and headed west managing to avoid severe weather which closed in behind them along the whole route and soon devastated the east coast with record snowfalls.
The 1970 Bug, painted to resemble the historic Gulf logoed GT-40 race cars of the seventies and carrying the #6, was equipped with a Gregs VW built mildly modified single port 1600cc engine which ran flawlessly throughout the entire event managing an average of speed of 66.7 miles per hour at approximately 24 miles per gallon. The Bug was also equipped with auxiliary fuel capacity totaling 25 gallons which helped minimize fuel and relief stop delays. Other than running out of fuel on the initial leg, no other traumas were encountered, no “legal issues” cropped up, and other than some dangerous encounters with black ice and strong winds, the cross country drive was fortunately uneventful.
High Tech satellite tracking devices provided by International Racing Consultants, ensured the cross country run was documented and interested parties could follow progress of this endeavor at www.racetheworld.net
A short video of the drive can be found on You Tube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6xZd5kjn3w&feature=player_embedded
along with a detailed photo journel at:
http://ultimateaircooled.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=6268.0
Patterned after the infamous 53 hour cross country drive from NYC to LA of Erwin “Cannonball” Baker in 1933, the BeetleBall 48 effort can best be compared to the more recently cloned Cannonball challenges for high powered sports cars and memorialized by the movie Gumball Rally. That record was first set in 1971 at 35.54 hours by Dan Gurney and Brock Yates in a Ferrari and is currently held by a Jaguar XJS at just 32 hours and 51 minutes.
The BeetleBall "PopSICKle" 3000 will be added to the annual VW driving activities this organization makes available including a similar one day BeetleBall 24 run from the Canadian border south to the Mexican border through California each summer. Further information on all of these activities can be found at www.beetleball.com or by contacting Jimbo at [email protected]
L to R
Jim "Jimbo" Ferguson, Greg Urrutia, Jeff Coplan, and Nick DeAvila. |
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| akbluebus |
Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:44 pm |
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| They should slow down and see the sights on the way back. |
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| bad dog racing |
Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:39 pm |
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BeetleBall 48 coverage in Hot VW's Magazine,
May 2010
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| acousticrawk |
Thu Jan 06, 2011 6:22 pm |
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| where can we get some specs on that car?! |
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