New York to Los Angeles in 31 hours by car

by Neil Woodburn   Nov 26th 2007 @ 9:00AM

When most people drive across the country in America, they do so in 5-6 days.

Alexander Roy did it in 31 hours and four minutes.

That, folks, is undoubtedly a world record for traveling from New York to Los Angeles--although it's not officially recognized by Guinness since it is so blatantly illegal. Can you imagine the number of traffic laws and speed limits broken to get from Point A to Point B in such a short time?

And what about the logistics?

Roy didn't just jump in his BMW M5 and take off. The meticulous race car driver not only plotted out gas stations with the fastest pumps, tollbooth wait times, and traffic patterns, but also hired a friend to fly air support to make sure there weren't any Smokeys on the road ahead. Roy also outfitted his car with dual gas tanks, air-to-ground radios, a CB, GPS system, night vision goggles, Travel John urination bags, and plenty of caffeine to stay awake for 31 hours straight while driving at ungodly speeds.

Recently Roy slowed down enough to speak with NPR about his adventure on the road which you can listen to here. Or for a more detailed how-to-do in case you'd like to replicate the same trip, be sure to check out his new book, The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World.

Gallery: Alexander Roy



Filed under: Transportation

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