Legendary daredevil Evel Knievel left a unique mark on American culture, even if he didn’t have a perfect record when it came to landing his many iconic jumps.
The image of Knievel in full red, white and blue gear gliding through the air with no guarantee of a graceful landing captivated America and was a forerunner to today’s extreme sports scene.
Motorsports veteran Travis Pastrana paid tribute to that image with his own show in Las Vegas on Sunday in a televised Evel Live special on the History Channel. Garbed in that ver ysame red, white and blue, Pastrana attempted three of of Knievel’s most well-known jumps. And unlike Knievel, he nailed every single one.
Travis Pastrana attempts the cars jump
First up was Knievel’s cars jump, in which Knievel set the world record by jumping over 50 stacked cars at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1973.
Pastrana surpassed Knievel by jumping over 52 cars, complete with pyrotechnics.
Travis Pastrana jumping over 52 cars while I eat peanut butter chocolate pie in bed pic.twitter.com/vDiG81nCfz
— Cass Anderson (@casspa) July 9, 2018
Travis Pastrana attempts the bus jump
It’s tough to jump over a bunch of cars, but you know what’s tougher? Jumping over a bunch of buses. Knievel’s career served as proof for that, considering his 1975 attempt at jumping over 13 buses at Wembley Stadium in London did not end too well.
Such an attempt wasn’t as difficult for Pastrana, who jumped over 16 buses with ease.
.@TravisPastrana making it look easy jumping over 16 buses! #EvelLIVE pic.twitter.com/OtNoOQtOVc
— Texas Motor Speedway (@TXMotorSpeedway) July 9, 2018
Travis Pastrana attempts the fountain jump
Last up was Knievel’s fountain jump, in which the daredevil attempted to make a 140-foot jump over the fountain at Caesar’s Palace. If you thought the result of the bus jump was bad, brace yourself. The end result of Knievel’s most famous crash was a broken hip, ankle, wrist and both hands, which will happen when you hit the ground at 90 miles per hour.
Thankfully, the same did not happen to Pastrana.
.@TravisPastrana is not human. What a jump! #EvelLIVE pic.twitter.com/CR02aQBfL6
— Texas Motor Speedway (@TXMotorSpeedway) July 9, 2018
That ended the night for Pastrana, who dove into the Caesar’s Palace fountains to celebrate his successful throwback to a different time of spectacle in America. However, if Pastrana really wants to complete the homage to Knievel’s legend, it might be time to head to Arizona.
