Top finishers in the 1980 US Express, successor race to the Cannonball Run. Far left is 1st place driver with a time of 33:39 Will Wright and his co-driver Rick Doherty, also US Express organizer, (2nd from right holding the flag). 3rd place finishers with a time of 34:04 are Becky Damone (3rd from left) and Pat Jones. To her right are 2nd place finishers Jeff Martini and Pierre Honnegger with a time of 33:56. Photo: Courtesy of Gravid Films Will Wright is famous as a videogame designer, but long before he created the empire of The Sims, Wright won an illegal, coast-to-coast street car race.

In 1980, Wright and a his co-driver loaded up a Mazda RX-7 to race the U.S. Express, a wild cross-country race with just one rule: Cross the finish line first, whatever it takes.

"It was a very time-warping experience," recalls Wright, talking by phone from his office. "We'd get off the freeway after going 120 for hours and hours, and so then you're driving 60 and it feels like you're going at a crawl."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNTxylO6dog Will Wright shows off the car gadgets in 1980

Video: Courtesy Gravid FilmsThe U.S. Express was the successor to The Cannonball Run, an illegal cross-continental dash that was run throughout the 1970s until its organizer, Brock Yates, made a deal to create the movie of the same name.

Rick Doherty, who had competed in two Cannonballs, decided to pick up where Yates left off and began organizing the U.S. Express, which debuted in 1980, the year Wright took part.

Circumstance made the newly acquainted Doherty and Wright into teammates for the race. "He was going to do it with his friend, and I was going to do it with my friend, but his friend dropped out and my friend dropped out, so we ended up doing it together," explains Wright.

The race's starting line was "this place in Brooklyn," with the finish "right on the beach in Santa Monica," recalls Wright, "so it was a little farther than the original Cannonball Run."

The two made sure they were well prepared for the journey, outfitting the Mazda with a roll cage and a larger fuel tank, as well as bringing along night vision goggles, radar detectors and a fridge.

Wright tried the night vision once, but quickly abandoned the idea.

"We tried driving with the lights off in the Mojave Desert, but … driving with the wheel in one hand, goggles in the other scared the crap out of me," he says.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmYwAi6fpME Will Wright discusses his 1980 US Express Victory

Video: Courtesy Gravid FilmsDespite the fact that Wright plotted a longer, more southerly route than other racers in the hopes of avoiding police attention, he and Doherty did eventually run afoul of the law. "We were doing 104 near Indianapolis," he says.

Wright and Doherty tried to talk their way out of the ticket by explaining that they were researching an article for a car magazine.

"I'm not sure if the cop bought it or not," muses Wright, "but he was surprisingly polite about it."

Even with the police interruption, Wright and Doherty crossed the finish line after 33 hours and 9 minutes of nonstop driving, winning the event.

The record time for driving across the United States was set three years later by the team of David Diem and Doug Turner in the Express' final year of operation, 1983. They did it in 32 hours, 7 minutes.

Wright competed only once in the race. He's very low-key about it, talking about it with a kind of "hey, that was neat" attitude. "Cars are my life," he says by way of explanation.

Wright and other racers reflect on the part they played in American automotive history in the upcoming documentary 32 Hours 7 Minutes by filmmaker Cory Welles, which chronicles the final year of the U.S. Express, the "last great American outlaw race."

Feature The Pedal to the Metal, Totally Illegal, Cross-Country Sprint for Glory The Pedal to the Metal, Totally Illegal, Cross-Country Sprint for Glory

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