The , the modern-day descendant of a legendary clandestine coast-to-coast highway race, rolled into New Orleans late Wednesday with an estimated 115 of the
original 135 entrants still running. The event started last Friday in Santa Monica, Calif., and is scheduled to end later this week in Miami. Victor Carillo, a Gumball 3000 spokesman, speaking on a cellphone from the road, said about 85 percent are still in the event. “Some have experienced car problems,” he said. “Some have experienced other problems. Some have dropped out. Some didn’t plan to go all the way anyway.†Mr. Carillo confirmed that the cars were impounded, their drivers arrested and taken to jail, but he said he was unable to confirm several reports that said the drivers had been clocked traveling at around 170 miles an hour on Interstate 25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. “I saw them stopped, but don’t know the reason,†Mr. Carillo said. But he added that he did know “they were stopped and detained, but have been released.†Their vehicles were also released from impound, he said. Besides the million-dollar Veyron, include Rolls-Royces, Porsches, Lamborghinis, Chevrolet Corvettes, Nissan GT-Rs and other exotics. Each car is brightly festooned with decals proclaiming their participation in the rally. Others in the event include various major and minor celebrities, musicians and athletes, including former NBA star Dennis Rodman and the skateboarder Tony Hawk.
Another case of rich brats using public roadways as their personal race tracks.