Erwin George "Cannon Ball" Baker (March 12, 1882 – May 10, 1960) was an American motorcycle and automobile racer and organizer in the first half of the 20th century.

[1][2][citation needed] In January 1912, he left Indianapolis on a two-speed Indian and covered 14,000 miles (23,000 km) in three months, traveling through Florida, down to Cuba and Jamaica, and then to Panama.

After a record-setting transcontinental drive in 1914, he received his nickname "Cannon Ball" from a New York newspaper writer who compared him to the Cannonball Express train of the Illinois Central made famous by Casey Jones.

Also in 1928, he competed in the Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race, and set a record time of 14:49.6 seconds, driving a Franklin.

[9] His best-remembered drive was a 1933 New York City to Los Angeles trek in a Graham-Paige model 57 Blue Streak 8, setting a 53.5 hour record that stood for nearly 40 years.

Other record and near-record transcontinental trips were made in Model T Fords, Chrysler Imperials, Marmons, Falcon-Knights, and Columbia Tigers, among others.

[12] In the 1970s, Car and Driver magazine reporter Brock Yates and editor Steve Smith conceived the idea of an unsanctioned, informal race across the country, replicating the 53.5-hour transcontinental drive made by Baker in 1933.