Alex Roy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alex Roy
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Alex Roy at the start of the 2006 Gumball 3000
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| Born | November 23, 1971 Los Angeles, California
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| Employer | Argo AI, The Drive, NBC Sports, Noho Sound, Autonocast |
| Known for | Rally racing, transcontinental driving record, Cannonball Run, autonomous vehicles, The Moth |
| Height | 6' |
Alexander Roy (born November 23, 1971) is an American writer, podcaster, and TV host. He is also a rally race driver. Alex Roy is famous for setting many endurance driving records. These include the US "Cannonball Run" record. He and Dave Maher broke this record in 2007. They drove across the United States in 31 hours and 4 minutes. This amazing journey was shown in the 2019 documentary APEX: The Secret Race Across America.
On April 1, 2015, Roy announced he had completed a transcontinental driving record. He claimed a time of 26 hours and 28 minutes. Later, he said it was an April Fools' prank. He wanted to show how easily false information spreads online.
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Alex Roy's Driving Adventures
Alex Roy became well-known in races like the Gumball 3000 and Bullrun. He drove a special BMW M5 and later a Bentley Continental GT. His cars were often decorated to look like police cars from different countries. His team, Team Polizei 144, even had lights, sirens, and an inflatable doll.
In 2003, he won the Gumball's Spirit trophy. This was for his unique car, fun costumes, and funny interview replies. In 2004, he and his co-driver dressed up as characters from the movie Tron. They won the Style trophy that year.
Roy plans very carefully for his rallies. He uses maps, GPS, and spreadsheets to avoid police stops. During the 2004 rally, he even pretended to be a police officer. He used flashing lights to stop other racers, which was against the rules.
Setting the Cannonball Record
A previous record for crossing the U.S. from New York City to Los Angeles was 32 hours, 7 minutes. This was set in 1983 during the US Express. This record was unofficial and not fully confirmed. When a filmmaker told Roy about it, he decided to try and break it.
Roy and his friend Jonathan Goodrich did a practice run in December 2005. They finished in 34 hours and 46 minutes. In April 2006, they tried again with a spotter plane. But his car's fuel pump broke in Oklahoma, ending the run.
On October 7, 2006, Roy and a new co-driver, David Maher, started another attempt. Maher was also his co-driver in the 2003 Gumball. This time, they succeeded! They completed the run in 31 hours and 4 minutes. Roy says they covered 2,794 mapped miles at an average speed of 90.1 mph.
The run happened over Columbus Day weekend to avoid heavy traffic. They drove safely, avoiding reckless driving like tailgating. However, they did reach top speeds of 160 mph. Roy's route had very few toll booths or red lights. They had only one close call with the highway patrol in Oklahoma. The journey ended at the Santa Monica Pier.
The record was partly witnessed by Davey Johnson and Mike Spinelli from the car blog Jalopnik. A time clock was punched when they left New York. It was then flown to California before they arrived to record their finish time.
Another rally team claimed they beat Roy's record in May 2007. They said they finished in 31 hours, 59 minutes. They also claimed Roy did not follow the original Cannonball Run route. However, Alex Roy says the route changed almost every year. He believes the only rule was the total time from start to finish. His 31:04 record was fast enough to beat the record even on the longest route.
Brock Yates, who started the Cannonball Run, does not recognize any records. He worries that someone might get hurt trying to break them. Roy shares this concern about others trying to beat his record.
In October 2007, Roy wrote a book about his racing. It is called The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World. Information about his record-setting run was kept secret until the book was published.
Roy's transcontinental record was later broken in October 2013. Atlanta-native Ed Bolian completed the run in 28 hours, 50 minutes, and 26 seconds.
Electric Car Driving Records
In 2015, Alex Roy set another Transcontinental Record, this time in an electric car. He drove from Los Angeles to New York City in 57 hours and 48 minutes. This beat the previous record of 58 hours and 55 minutes. Roy was with Carl J Reese and Deena Mastracci, who had set the earlier record. They used a Tesla Model S and its autopilot feature for their record-breaking drive.
From August 24–27, 2016, Roy and his teammates Warren Ahner and Franz Aliquo broke the electric and semi-autonomous Cannonball Run records again. They drove a Tesla Model S 90D 2,877 miles in 55 hours. This beat the previous record by 2 hours and 48 minutes. The Tesla Autopilot was used for 97.7% of the trip. They used GPS data and video to prove their journey.
With an early Tesla Model 3, Roy and co-driver Dan Zorrilla broke the Electric Cannonball Run record again. This happened from December 28–31, 2017. They drove 2,860 miles from California to New York in 50 hours and 16 minutes. GPS data and video were shared online. In July 2019, Roy's record was beaten by a family team. Robin Jedi Thomsen and her parents Lars Thomsen and Betty Legler drove a Long-Range Rear-Wheel-Drive Tesla Model 3 in 48 hours and 10 minutes.
Fastest Lap Around Manhattan
On September 10, 2001, Roy set a record for the fastest drive around Manhattan. He completed the lap in about 27 minutes. In his book, he remembers reaching speeds of 144 mph. He also committed many traffic violations during this drive.
He chose a route that avoided the busiest and most policed parts of the city. He started at the World Trade Center. This building was sadly destroyed the next day in a terrorist attack. Roy drove through the Battery Park Underpass, up the Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, across the George Washington Bridge Interchange, and down the Henry Hudson Parkway. This road turns into the West Side Highway, and he ended back at the World Trade Center. He talks about this lap in his book, but the video footage has never been released.
In October 2010, a video appeared on YouTube showing Roy's record being broken. The drivers in the video took a similar route. They achieved a time of 26 minutes and 3 seconds.
In August 2013, Adam "Afroduck" Tang set a new unofficial record. He drove around Manhattan in 24 minutes and 7 seconds. He used a manual 2006 BMW Z4 3.0si. He filmed his drive and put it on YouTube. He started his loop at 116th Street and stopped at almost all the red lights.
Alex Roy's Career Beyond Driving
Alex Roy worked with the YouTube show Fast Lane Daily. He had a segment called "Road Testament." This segment covered topics like driver safety and road rallying.
Today, Roy is an Editor-at-Large for the automotive website The Drive. He also started and co-hosts the Autonocast. This is a podcast that talks about the future of transportation. He also co-hosts /DRIVE on NBC Sports. This is a TV show about cars with Chris Harris and Mike Spinelli.
In March 2018, Roy published the Human Driving Manifesto. This launched the Human Driving Association. This group works to protect private car ownership and control over automated vehicles.
In January 2019, Roy joined Argo.ai, a company that develops self-driving cars. He was the Director of Special Operations there. He left that role in December 2022.
In January 2023, Roy co-founded Johnson & Roy. This company helps new businesses in AI, robotics, and transportation. They focus on how these companies tell their story.
In May 2024, Roy also co-founded New Industry Venture Capital. In January 2025, he co-founded the Tool Or Die podcast.
Alex Roy's Personal Life
Alex Roy often attends charity balls for young people. He used to lead the board of The Moth, a live storytelling series in New York City. He is currently on the board of Groupmuse, a platform for classical music.
