Take 5 With BROCK YATES JR.
With a résumé that includes Cannonball, One Lap of America, driving instructor, and as the son of one of the greatest automotive journalists of the last 40 years, Brock Yates Jr. has experienced and forgotten more about cars than most of us will ever know. From his time charging across the country in a Chevy van at age 14 to organizing one of the best automotive events currently in existence, Brock set aside time to talk cars, Cannonball, and what goes into making great drivers.
HRM] Your father, Brock Yates Sr., created the Cannonball. What was that like to experience as a young adult?
] He traveled a lot, so any time I got to spend time with my father, it was a good thing. One year he asked me if I wanted to go, to which I said, “Sure, why not!” And that was as a 14-year-old, prepubescent kid who didn’t like anybody. It was a great lark, and I had no idea what we were doing. All I knew is that we; Steve Smith, who was a crazy man and the ex-editor of —very droll, very bright, and a really interesting guy; and, of course, Brock. We set off, left New York City, and I recall watching the telephone poles go by. We just went, and went, and went. Now when I drive across the country, I notice things that I saw nearly 50 years ago, and I’m amazed at how much things have changed. The country now is much, much smaller. Every intersection and interchange looks exactly the same. There’s a McDonald’s, a Shell, a Conoco, a Hampton Inn, and you can’t tell where in the country you are when you get off. I remember stopping for gas somewhere on Route 40 in the desert, and there was a lady with rattlesnakes on display who also sold handmade beef jerky. It was more of a country store than a gas station, but there it was, right on the side of the road. Nowadays, if you don’t have a convenience store attached to it, how do you make money? The Cannonball changed when Brock was down in Florida for Amelia Island one year. A guy came up to him and said, “I want you to come see my car.” It was a Lamborghini with built-in Escort radar detectors and other equipment. Brock, who was a very bright guy and who was able to see into the future, basically thought, It became this American myth, and it was a great event that really captured the imagination of so many people. Once he saw that, the decked-out Lamborghini, he basically put a bullet in the Cannonball because he knew someone was going to take out a busload of nuns. It was just a matter of time. If that happened, instead of being just outlaws, they would have become dangerous, speed-freak, killer outlaws, and all of the goodwill and that American myth around the event would disappear.
