32 Hours, 7 Minutes: Alex Roy

32 Hours, 7 Minutes is a documentary that takes its title from the US transcontinental speed record, set during the 1983 US Express (a secretive race from New York to LA). A successor to the famous Cannonball Run, drivers were essentially breaking the law nonstop, driving as fast as they could to get across the United States. The total distance, start to finish: 2,874 miles.

I first heard about the movie way back in 2004, back before YouTube even existed. Over eight years later, I got wind that the movie was finally complete… and was able to get a hold of a reviewer’s copy, soon after its release.

I so enjoyed the film, and was so taken with it… that I ended up trying to contact the main participants from the documentary: director Cory Welles, and drivers Alex Roy and Dave Maher.

While I did exchange a few emails with Alex and got him to initially agree to a Q&A, we unfortunately fell out of touch in the ensuing weeks. I tried to get a hold of him numerous times, but was ultimately unsuccessful in my attempts.

Which is a big bummer. I was fortunate enough to get interviews with Cory and Maher, but missing Alex’s perspective leaves a bit of a gap. I had a lot of (what I felt were) interesting questions for him, and sadly… it just didn’t end up working out.

In my research, I ended up finding a Google Talk that Alex gave back in 2008. I think it’s really worth watching, particularly if you’ve seen the documentary. As was the case in the documentary, I found Alex to be a highly charismatic, engaging person… and also a great public speaker. In his talk, he adds a lot of details that weren’t included in the film.

Note: If you haven’t seen the documentary yet, you may want to skip this talk. FYI there are a few spoilers.

Related:
32 Hours, 7 Minutes: Official Website
32 Hours, 7 Minutes: Q&A with Director Cory Welles
32 Hours, 7 Minutes: Q&A with Driver Dave Maher

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