Smokey and the Bandit sponsored a racer in Atlanta's Southern Classic and wants to celebrate in style when he wins. They find local legend Bo "Bandit" Darville at a roadeo at Lakewood Fairgrounds in Atlanta and offer him $80,000 to pick up 400 cases of Coors from Texarkana (the closest place it could be legally sold at that time), and bring it back to Atlanta in 28 hours. Bandit takes the bet and recruits his partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow to drive the truck, while Bandit drives a black Pontiac Trans Am bought on an advance from the Burdettes as a "blocker" to divert attention
Smokey and the Bandit on vinyl, cassette and 8-track through MCA Records. "Smokey and the Bandit" was a sleeper hit. The film premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City where it performed badly. It then opened in just the South of the United States over the Memorial Day weekend and grossed $2,689,851 in 386 theatres. By the end of June it had played in major Southern markets including Charlotte, Atlanta, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Memphis, Dallas and Oklahoma City grossing $11.9 million. It opened in other Northern states at the end of July. With an original budget of $5.3 million (cut to