The Cannonball - The First 20 Years
2001 sees the twentieth anniversary of one of the most popular, and often controversial, meetings in Santa Pods calender. The Cannonball began in 1981 as a promotional vehicle for the film "The Cannonball Run". The rules were simple. Nitro and Alcohol Funny Cars competed together, each making a total of three qualifying runs. The three times for each car are then added together and the two with the quickest aggregate times run off for the final. Held on Independence day weekend the first winner was Bill Sherratt in the ex-Don Prudhomme Plymouth Arrow that had been named 'Cannonball' for the event. In nineteen years fifteen Cannonball meetings have produced a winner, two fell foul of the unpredictable British summer weather and one culminated in confusion with no official winner. The event was not run in 1998. Only twelve drivers have made it to the final and of those only eight have won it. Of those eight six were nitro cars, only two alcohol drivers have ever won the title. Although the format was intended to equal out the merits of nitro over alcohol it was ten years before an alcohol car made it to the final, although in the following ten years six finals contained alcohol cars.
1981 Bill Sherratt r/u Owen Hayward (Hayward 1st alternate for Herridge)
1982 Owen Hayward r/u Allan Herridge
1983 Gary Page r/u Tony Boden
1984 Harlan Thompson r/u Tony Boden
1985 Harlan Thompson r/u Gary Page
1986 Rune Fjeld r/u Tom Hoover
1987 Harlan Thompson r/u Tom Hoover
1988 Rained Off
1989 No winner declared
1990 Micke Kagered r/u Rune Fjeld (Kagered first alcohol car to reach final)
1991 Harlan Thompson r/u John Spuffard (Thompson in car borrowed fron Fjeld)
1992 John Spuffard r/u Harlan Thompson
1993 John Spuffard r/u Micke Kagered
1994 Harlan Thompson r/u Micke Kagered
1995 Rained Off (Would have been Harlan Thompson vs Micke Kagered)
1996 Lex Joon r/u Gary Page (Joon first alternate for Spuffard)
1997 John Spuffard r/u Gary Page
1998 Event not run
1999 Micke Kagered r/u John Spuffard
2000 Micke Kagered r/u Urs Erbacher (First alcohol vs alcohol final)
2001 John Spuffard r/u Lex Joon
Most wins;
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Most final appearances;
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Quickest time - John Spuffard 2001 - 5.33
First five second run - Gary Page 1989 - 5.94
First side-by-side five second final - 1997 John Spuffard 5.64/265, Gary Page 5.70/232
Fastest speed - 1997 John Spuffard - 275mph
Longest time between final appearances - 10 years - Harlan Thompson 1984-1994, Micke Kagered 1990 - 2000
Largest entry - 1991 - 15 Funny Cars
Most consecutive final appearances - 3 John Spuffard 1991, 1992, 1993
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