After the "World Crash of '79", massive civil unrest and economic ruin occurs. The United States government restructured into a totalitarian regime under martial law. To pacify the population, the government has organized the Transcontinental Road Race, where a group of drivers race across the country in their high-powered cars, infamous for violence, gore, and innocent pedestrians being struck for bonus points.
Five long decades after Death Race 2000, in the overpopulated United Corporations of America, the annual Death Race is about to begin. This time, Frankenstein is up against no-nonsense challengers. How many points will he score?
The Trans-America Grand Prix is an illegal race held every year between Los Angeles, California (Santa Monica Pier) and New York City. Recently released from jail, where he was serving a sentence for killing a girl while driving drunk, racing driver Coy "Cannonball" Buckman (David Carradine) hopes to win the race and get his career back on track. Racing team Modern Motors have promised a contract to either him or his arch-rival Cade Redman (Bill McKinney) who is also in the race – the contract will go to whichever of them wins. Coy is still on probation and when his parole officer, Linda Maxwell (Veronica Hamel), with whom he is having an elaborate affair, discovers he will be crossing state lines in violation of his parole, she attempts to stop him, only to have him force her to accompany him on the race.