Albuquerque, NM – The inaugural Fireball Run, a cross-country “adventurtainment” rally from Orlando to Beverly Hills, kicked off on Thursday, September 27th. The event featuring 50 teams will make a pit stop in Albuquerque on Wednesday, October 3rd and will finish in California on October 7th.
 

The national event sponsored by Insurance Office of America and FedEx takes the participants on a 3,500 mile, nine day cross-country driving adventure. It is a live action “game” and America is the game board. Starting in Orlando, Florida and finishing in Los Angeles, California, the participants will know only the beginning and the end…what happens in between is the mystery. This is a “scavenger-hunt style” road game with a few time-trial-distance race track events.

Albuquerque will be the fifth destination stop in the Fireball Run Race To Recover America’s Missing Children, a national awareness campaign for Child Rescue Network on October 3rd. Teams will make quick stops at the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway and the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum from 5-7 p.m. to obtain the clue that directs them to the Albuquerque Museum in Old Town. The Albuquerque Museum marks the “finish line” of the leg between Oklahoma City and Albuquerque. All teams must reach the finish line by 7 p.m.

When departing the museum, teams will be directed through Old Town via San Felipe Road to a private reception at the Hotel Albuquerque. The best viewing location for car enthusiasts will be the Old Town plaza between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Locals are also welcome to help send off the teams Thursday morning, October 4th from St. Pius X High School between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. as they depart for Henderson, Nevada. Mayor Chavez will address the crowd from 8:45 a.m. – 9 a.m. and wave the green flag to send the participants off to their next destination.

Fireball Run teams are on a mission - Recover America’s Missing Children. Each team is assigned a missing child who’s image and stats are affixed to the vehicle, creating a “rolling milk carton.” Everywhere teams stop they ask, “Have you seen this child?” and leave a poster behind. The Race to Recover America’s Missing Children is the longest active recovery effort for missing or abducted children in history.

Featured participating cars include a 1966 street legal version of the “Batmobile,” a 1977 Ferrari 308, a stretch limousine, Bentleys, Jaguars and more. Fireball Run participants include high profile corporate executives. Albuquerque economic development professionals hope to capitalize on the opportunity to meet the participants in person and leave a positive impression of our city.

J “JJ” Sanchez, organizer of the Fireball Run is a New Mexico native. He will accompany the cars as they trek across the country and will be available for interviews beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. For complete details on the event, visit www.fireballrun.com.

A Tribute to the Legendary Edward Glenn “Fireball” Roberts

The Fireball Run is an epic adventure of American proportions – a courageous journey that starts on the East Coast and finishes after crossing the great West. Its namesake is a racing legend whose daring persona is greater than the sport he helped define; a man who epitomizes the strength of character that it took to tame the West—and the track. It was a fateful day in May 1964 when he was critically injured during a fiery crash while competing in the World 600, at Charlotte (now Lowes) Motor Speedway in North Carolina. He died of complications several weeks later. The participants pay tribute to his competitive character and honor the legendary race driver with the first Fireball Run, 60 years after he ran his first stock car race.
 
Local sponsors include Heritage Hotels & Resorts, Visit Albuquerque, Sysco Foods of New Mexico, First Community Bank (of New Mexico), Bank of the West, AlphaGraphics, El Pinto, First National Bank of Santa Fe, Grubb & Ellis, HUB International, Laguna Development, National Distributing, New Mexico Partnership, Rainbow Ryders, Sandia Peak Ski & Tramway and Simply Southwest Designs.