On July 8, 2018, history was made when professional motorsports icon and stunt performer Travis Pastrana successfully completed three of daredevil legend Evel Knievel’s historic jumps, including one jump over the fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV that Evel failed to clear. The three-hour event called Evel Live was broadcast live on the History Channel as part of the network’s annual car week special.
About Evel Knievel and the Infamous Caesars Palace Fountain Jump
Evel Knievel was born Robert Craig Knievel Jr. During the course of his professional stunt performing and entertainment career (from 1965-1980), Evel attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps and received worldwide recognition for his record-breaking stunts.
Arguably his most notable attempt was the jump over the fountains at Caesars Palace in 1967, which also happened to be his longest attempted motorcycle jump at 141 feet. His unfortunate crash resulted in a crushed pelvis and femur, a concussion, and several fractures in his body, but after his recovery, Evel continued to push himself to new limits with other exciting and successful jumps.
Watch Evel Knievel’s jump at Caesars Palace below:
“Evel Knievel’s Jump at Caesar’s Palace | Pure Evel: American Legend” by Discovery
Fun Fact: Suffering 433 bone fractures by the end of 1975, Evel earned an entry in the Guiness Book of World Records as the survivor of the most bones broken in a lifetime (source).
After Evel’s failed attempt at jumping the fountains, a few other people have also tried. In 1980, Gary Wells tried and failed. In 1989, Evel’s son Robbie Knievel became the first person to successfully complete the jump. Finally, in 2006, Mike Metzger set a world record by completing a backflip over the fountains.
Evel Live
Also known as the ring leader and founder of Nitro Circus, an action sports company that has produced some of the most entertaining and never-before-seen stunts, Travis Pastrana teamed up with the History Channel and Caesars Palace to pay homage to Evel Knievel by attempting to perform three of Evel’s most dangerous jumps all in one night. These jumps included:
- Evel’s record jump over 52 cars
- Evel’s record jump over 16 buses
- Evel’s failed jump over the Caesars Palace fountains
The previous successful attempts at clearing the Caesars Palace fountains were on motorcycles designed for acrobatic jumps, but Travis did his best to simulate Evel’s jumps by using a modern-day version of the motorcycle Evel used, a custom-made Indian Scout FTR750, which is about 100 lbs heavier than what Travis is normally used to riding for his own jumps. Travis also wore a replica of Evel’s white leather jumpsuit complete with high heel dress boots.
While Travis also did his best to replicate the Caesars Palace jump as closely as possible, changes that have been made to the property required the jump to be performed in the opposite direction with less space for the run-in. Travis ended up making history by clearing all of Evel’s jumps in a live three-hour broadcast called Evel Live.
Watch Travis’s jumps below:
“Travis Pastrana honors Evel Knievel by jumping Caesars Palace fountain in Las Vegas | ESPN” by ESPN
To learn more about this historical event, check out these articles:
- https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/ode-evel-pastrana-hopes-clear-ceasars-palace-fountain-56400223
- https://www.history.com/news/evel-live-pastrana-three-jumps-evel-knievel-cars-buses-fountain
- https://www.history.com/news/evel-live-travis-pastrana-evel-knievel-three-jumps-las-vegas
Evel Live will be available on the History Channel’s website until July 13, 2018. Watch it here: https://www.history.com/specials/evel-live/full-special
Bonus: Nitro Circus announced a new 2019 residency at Bally’s Las Vegas. You can sign up for more info here:
https://nitrocircus.com/nitro-circus-las-vegas/