Stuntman Travis Pastrana accomplished three of Evel Knievel's motorcycle jumps in one day during the "Evel Live" event on History Channel.
Wearing a Knievel-like costume, Pastrana surpassed Knievel's historic stunts while onboard an Indian Scout FTR750. The first two stunts were performed at the vacant lot behind Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Paris Las Vegas and Bally's Las Vegas.
In his first jump, Pastrana hurdled 52 crushed cars which were placed side by side for a length of 143 feet. In 1973, Knievel jumped over 50 crushed cars with the length of just 120 feet at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
In his second jump, Pastrana's motorcycle jumped 192 feet to clear 16 Greyhound buses. Knievel did it first in 1975, hurdling over 14 Greyhound buses with a length of 133 feet at Ohio's Kings Island amusement park.
After his first two jumps, Pastrana was escorted by police on his way to Caesar's Palace. Along the way, he stopped to greet and shake hands with fans.
"To be able to get a police escort on the Las Vegas Strip, I mean, c'mon," said the 34-year-old Pastrana.
Pastrana Succeeded Where Knievel Failed
In the finale, Pastrana accomplished where Knievel failed. In 1967, Knievel tried to clear the Caesar's Palace fountain, but he came up short. During his attempt, Knievel lost control of his bike just before the landing ramp.
Aside from suffering a crushed pelvis and sustaining several broken bones in the mishap, the stunt put Knievel in a coma for 29 days.
In completing the feat, Pastrana jumped from the opposite direction from where Knievel tried. Pastrana accomplished it despite having less space for his approach and a shorter distance to reach 70 miles per hour before his takeoff.
Pastrana Nervous Before The Event
After accomplishing the feat, Pastrana admitted that he was nervous heading into the event.
"This is all about Evel, and the coolest thing about this whole thing, all of Evel's family is out here," says Pastrana, who is in the homestretch of his career as an accomplished professional rider and stunt showman.
"This is the home of the most iconic jump, one of the most iconic events that has ever gone down. And to end at Caesars Palace, to have a chance to jump the fountain, it's not the longest jump, but it's definitely the hardest," added Pastrana.
Pastrana admits that Las Vegas is memorable to him as he proposed to his wife and had his first Nitro Circus Show in the Sin City. He then thanked the family of Knievel for attending the event in honor of the late daredevil.
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