The Bandit Run The Bandit Run The Bandit Run is a reenactment of the journey portrayed in the 1977 film, "Smokey and the Bandit". The reenactment first took place on May 15, 2007 and has become an annual event. The reenactment was the brainchild of David Hershey and Dave Hall who wanted to commemorate the 30-year anniversary of the classic film. Hall, of the website, "Restore a Muscle Car" and Hershey came up with the idea shortly after Hershey purchased his restored 1977 Pontiac Trans Am from him in 2006. Following the same route that the characters Bo "Bandit" Darville (Burt Reynolds) and
Smokey and the Bandit escape in one of Big Enos' thirteen Cadillacs as the police flood the racetrack. They pass Sheriff Justice's badly damaged police car by the side of the road. Over the radio, Bandit first directs Justice to Big and Little Enos, but then, in a gesture of respect, reveals his true location and invites Justice to give chase, leaving Junior behind. Director Hal Needham originally planned the film as a low-budget B movie with a production cost of $1 million, with Jerry Reed as the Bandit. It was not until Needham's friend Burt Reynolds read the script, and said he would