The King of Outlaw Racing - Alexander Roy

Alexander Roy is the current King of Outlaw Racing. In 2007, he broke a 23-year cross-country driving record, traveling from New York to Los Angeles in 31 hours and 4 minutes at an average speed of 90.1 mph.

The King of Outlaw Racing

Roy's journey as an outlaw racer began when he saw "C'etait un Rendez-vous", a short 1976 French film that was a first-person-camera record of a high-speed car run through the streets of Paris. Then a wealthy young man without a career path, this short outlaw racing film inspired Alexander Roy to want to make his own short race film through the streets of New York, but he thankfully chickened out at the last minute.

It was later discovered that the then unknown director of "C'etait un Rendez-vous" was none other than legendary French director Claude Lelouch.

Gumball Rally

In 2003, Alexander Roy entered the Gumball 3000, a quasi-legitimate road rally for the rich and famous. For the race, Roy was dressed in a stylized uniform that resembled a variety of European police uniforms, and his BMW was tricked-out to resemble an "Autotech Interceptor Unit", a German high-speed police vehicle, complete with sirens and decals. Roy called his racing team "Polizei 144."

Alexander Roy's "Team Polizei" wound up participating in eight rallies across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and North Africa.

While he made a splash in all Gumball 3000 Rallies that he participated in, it was his 2007 solo cross-country run that made his reputation as King of the Outlaw Racers."

2007 Cross-Country Run

Some have described Alexander Roy as a spoiled rich kid with almost unlimited financial resources. In 2007, he invested a large chunk of these resources into beating the 23-year U.S. cross-country record, tricking-out his car with the latest high-tech devices. These included a laser device to jam police speed enforcement equipment, two night vision monitors, and four GPS navigation systems that helped him prepare his route along with Google Earth.

Route preparation alone took months, taking into account detours, speed traps, all-night gas stations, and weather projections.

When Alexander Roy set out on his route, it was his old-school CB radio that was his handiest piece of equipment, particularly for speed trap warnings. As an added precaution, Roy's cross-country trek was followed overhead by a spotter plane manned by one of his friends from high school. The plane warned him of unforeseen road construction, traffic jams, and the police.

Along the way, though, Roy did encounter some unexpected glitches including a closed 24-hour gas station and road construction. But, this didn't prevent him from breaking David Diem and Doug Turner's 1983 cross-country record by one hour and three minutes.

Some in the automotive world, however, won't recognize Alexander Roy's record because he didn't use the Cannonball Run route originally set by "Cannon Ball Baker."

"The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World", Alexander Roy's memoir, was published in 2008.