This pilot episode sets the premise: ""Cannonball"" is the adventures of 2 truck drivers who haul freight across the highways of the United States and Canada. The main character is Mike Malone; providing the family atmosphere are his wife Mary, and his son Butch, and his daughter Ginny. Mike's truck-drivin' buddy is Jerry Austin. This episode, Mike has to stop a runaway truck.

Truck drivers doing long hauls often use caffeine pills to stay alert. The highway patrol puts out a warning that some truckstops are selling stay-awake pills that can be real killers. When Mike and Jerry turn a bottle of this stuff over to the authorities, it leads to the breakup of this dangerous pill racket.

Mike and Jerry pick up a hitchhiker named Willy who has gotten into trouble.

When Mike and Jerry are under pressure to deliver a load in a big hurry, a near-accident makes them learn that they must keep their Sights on Safety.

Mike and Jerry deliver a cargo consisting of an iron lung to help a polio patient.

Mike Malone loves truckstop food, and has meals and snacks on a long haul. When Mike gets some stomach pains, Jerry thinks it's just indigestion. But it turns out to be more serious, and Mike winds up taking a trip in an ambulance.

Mike and Jerry are taking some freight on a long haul, but when they look in the back of their truck they find out they've also got some small cargo-- 2 frightened youngsters as stowaways. It seems they're running away from their uncle, who is on the wrong side of the law. Mike makes sure their evil uncle never hurts the kids again.

While out on the road doing a long haul, Mike and Jerry stop at Joe's place for coffee. Mike is a happily married man, but Jerry is single and looking. Jerry falls for the pretty waitress, May, and they become romantically involved. But Jerry doesn't know that May has a past that she is not telling him about.

When Mike and Jerry come across a little old man on the road, it turns out he has a past that surprises both of them.

In order to show off their skills, just like cowboys have a Rodeo, truck drivers have a Roadeo. Mike has already won the annual competition twice, and this year he wants Jerry to enter. Mike believes it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. However, not everyone believes in sportsmanship; one of the contestants is only interested in winning the prize money, and will stoop to sabotaging the other trucks in order to win.

Mike Malone puts the pedal to the metal to get home in time for Ginny's 10th birthday.

Mike and Jerry always have a steady paycheck by working for C & A trucking. One day they find out how rough some independent truckers have it, they learn of a crooked racket trying to exert protection money from them. Mike and Jerry work with the independent truckers to put the racketeers out of commission.

After Jerry gets a couple of traffic tickets, and has a near-miss on the road, he is faced with having to take driving school.

Mike and Jerry become eyewitnesses to a killing. They are determined to testify in court as to what they saw-- but in the meantime, Mike and Jerry wind up on the hit list of the gangsters. Mike and Jerry finally testify, and put the entire gang behind bars.