The Bandit Run is a re-enactment of the journey portrayed in the 1977 film, ''

Smokey and the Bandit ''Smokey and the Bandit'' is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, the film follows ...

''. The re-enactment first took place on May 15, 2007, and has become an annual event. The re-enactment was the brainchild of David Hershey and Dave Hall who wanted to commemorate the 30-year anniversary of the classic film. Hall, of the website, ''Restore a Muscle Car'' and Hershey came up with the idea shortly after Hershey purchased his restored 1977

Pontiac Trans Am The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile that was built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Che ...

from him in 2006.

2007

Following the same route that the characters Bo "the Bandit" Darville ( Burt Reynolds) and Cledus "the Snowman" Snow (

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

) made in the 1977 movie, a group of about 30 Trans Ams started out in Texarkana on May 15, 2007. There, they had a send-off at the Classic Car Museum. Both Texarkana mayors also got involved and gave a send-off speech to the group. Heading east on the three-day trip, they were joined by ''

Hot Rod Magazine ''Hot Rod'' is a monthly American car magazine devoted to hot rodding, drag racing, and muscle cars—modifying automobiles for performance and appearance. History ''Hot Rod'' is the oldest magazine devoted to hot rodding, having been publishe ...

''Smokey And The Bandit Pontiac Trans Ams - Bandit Run
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Automobile Magazine ''Automobile'' was an American automobile magazine published by the Motor Trend Group. A group of former employees of ''Car and Driver'' led by David E. Davis founded ''Automobile'' in 1986 with support from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, u ...

''. After an evening in Tupelo, the growing group of Bandit Runners received another send-off at the Tupelo Auto Museum on May 16. From there, they headed toward

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. There was a stop at the

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...

, where the Bandit Runners were given a tour of the museum, a group photo and lunch. Then, a short drive brought them to their destination, the Year One Facility, for the annual ''Year One Experience'', a three-day event. The group in Atlanta totalled more than 100 Trans Ams and other cars. Local and national media was there to cover the event, and the Bandit Run was featured on ''Hot Rod TV'' and the

DIY Network Magnolia Network is an American basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Chip and Joanna Gaines. It broadcasts personality-based lifestyle programs related to topics such as home construction, renovation, and cuisine. The channe ...

. To finish the weekend off, local Bandit Runner Tyler H gave the group a movie location tour around Atlanta, and visited some of the movie's most famous sites.

References

External links

Official ''The Bandit Run'' website

at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', May 27, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bandit Run, The Automotive events Smokey and the Bandit Texarkana