By Haley Smith
Staff Writer
EL DORADO — Nearly 250 Trans Ams will be making their way though the streets of El Dorado around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the 1977 classic film “Smokey and the Bandit”.
The annual event, known as the Bandit Run, will loosely follow the route the characters in the movie took.
At 10:30 a.m., as the parade of cars arrive from Texarkana; the group will be escorted by the El Dorado Police Dept. down West Hillsboro Street/ U.S. 82, turning onto South West Avenue near the El Dorado Conference Center and South Arkansas Community College. The group drive through the city heading to the Murphy USA fueling station at Wal-Mart Drive and North West Avenue for non-ethanol premium gasoline says Texarkana Car Club member Joe Gallea. Afterwards the group will be escorted further down North West to the 167 bypass, departing El Dorado for Greenville, Miss.
It’s been 40 years since Bandit “Bo” Darville and Cledus “Snowman” Snow, did what they said couldn’t be done by making the run from Texarkana to Atlanta in 28 hours hauling a load of illegal Coors Beer.
On the groups official site thebanditrun.com it describes the weeklong rode trip as a tribute to the all-time classic movie with hundreds of participants driving classic cars of all years and colors. This year’s run will also include the “Snowman’s Dream” truck, a replica of the tractor trailer driven in the movie by Jerry Reed and a replica of the bubble top cop car.
Started by Dave Hall of Restore a Muscle Car of Lincoln, Nebraska and David Hersey in 2007, the Bandit Run has taken place for ten years.
The first run followed the movie’s trip from Texarkana to Atlanta but has since diverted to different parts of the country, predominately in the South and Midwest.
The goal for this event is to get classic cars out of the garage and back out on the road. Anyone can participate in the Bandit run, not just Trans Ams or muscle cars.
The yearly route, which is mapped out by Restore a Muscle Car and the Bandit Run group, encourages more drivers to get involved by taking participating drivers to new areas and seeing different parts of the country.
According to the groups website, “This yearly event has grown into a large, fun road trip, that allows us to meet new friends and experience new sites and experiences along the way.”
Haley Smith is a staff writer for El Dorado News-Times. She can be contacted via email at hsmith@ eldroadonews.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter at @hsmihtEDNT.