It was just a real , REAL bad idea from the start

[Brian Lohnes]

Re: It was just a real , REAL bad idea from the start

too late for the story now....need to sleep....but there was a drag strip exhibition act that involved a guy jumping over a jet dragster....worked for about a year....ended badly....need sleep.

[oldrustycars]

Re: It was just a real , REAL bad idea from the start

At Santa Fe Speedway in Illinois in the 70's some nutrod tried to jump 10 cars with a 1964 Ford Country Squire. The cars were placed on the front straight, so he had to try to get speed up around the quarter mile clay track, and the ramp was just at the end of turn four. He landed on the third car.

[Abrasive]

Re: It was just a real , REAL bad idea from the start

BigDad, what was this thread about? I couldn't take my eyes off your signature! LOL

[Wes Tarkington]

Re: It was just a real , REAL bad idea from the start

Did no one wear shirts in the 70's?

I recall the fella jumping over jet dragsters. We were at Norwalk one Ohio summer Saturday evening in '87 or '88. The Bader family had agreed to allow this dude to try out his stunt...no contract, no pay agreement. Bill said that if the guy survived they would talk about pay. He wanted to perform the stunt that bad. Jet dragster put on the big fire and smoke show while the stunt guy stood at about the 330' mark nervously pacing, stretching, and jumping. Bill and Bill, Jr. worked the crowd into anticipation as the tree decended and the little GE powered projectile raced towards this jumpsuit-clad idiot standing just left of the center of the lane. I swear you could see the driver's eyes close as he neared the would-be hero. Just as the nose of the dragster closed in on his standing point, he took two or three steps towards the car then lept straight up and slightly to his right...CLEARING the accelerating jet dragster!!! He cleared the top of the car by 12-18 inches easy. Nice vertical leap.

However...there is always a "but" to these stories. As the dragster passed under him and gravity became his enemy, he found himself directly over the center of the car. The driver of the dragster kept the big candle lit throughout the whole procedure. This meant bad things for the jumper as he fell to the track surface...directly behind the engine outlet. Before his feet hit the ground they were swept out from under him by the thrust. I lost count of the mid air gyrations as the crowd on hand gasped for breath at the thought of being witness to this guy's death. Somehow when he fell back to the asphalt he landed-thankfully-on his ass and not his head. After a few moments of fogginess the stunt man lept to his feet and saluted the crowd. The cheers heard were more relief than appreciation.

I believe the young man was paid and given orders the never, ever call NRP again.

[ch1ll]

Re: It was just a real , REAL bad idea from the start

70's were crazy.
60's were worse.
In the 70's everyone started to best what Evel had already done.
In the 60's Evel was thinking all this crazy shit before doing it, that is what the real crazyness is.