It took about two years to prepare for less than 10 seconds of motorcycle flight on the Las Vegas Strip. Travis Pastrana jumps over the fountains at Caesars Palace on an Indian Scout FTR750 motorcycle during "Evel Live," a three-hour live tribute show to stuntman Evel Kneivel, in Las Vegas on Sunday, July 8, 2018. Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph The smoke from fireworks remains after Travis Pastrana jumped over 16 greyhound buses on an Indian Scout FTR750 motorcycle at the Evel Live event in a lot behind Planet Hollywood hotel-resort in Las Vegas, Sunday, July 8, 2018. The show was produced by the History Channel in partnership with Nitro Circus. Rachel Aston Las Vegas Review-Journal @rookie__rae Evel Knievel jumping the fountains at Caesars Palace in 1967. (Las Vegas News Bureau) Attendees pull out their phones to capture Travis Pastrana jump over 52 crushed cars on an Indian Scout FTR750 motorcycle at the Evel Live event where Travis Pastrana attempted to exceed three of Evel Knievel's famous jumps in a lot behind Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Sunday, July 8, 2018. The show was produced by the History Channel in partnership with Nitro Circus. Rachel Aston Las Vegas Review-Journal @rookie__rae Jack Stubbs holds his daughter, Tatum Stubbs, 4, as his wife Samantha Stubbs holds their son, Kellen Stubbs, 6, to get a better view at the Evel Live event where Travis Pastrana attempted to exceed three of Evel Knievel's famous jumps in a lot behind Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Sunday, July 8, 2018. The show was produced by the History Channel in partnership with Nitro Circus. Rachel Aston Las Vegas Review-Journal @rookie__rae It took about two years to prepare for less than 10 seconds of motorcycle flight on the Strip. But Travis Pastrana easily stuck the landing — well, three of them — at “Evel Live” on Sunday. He soared over 52 crushed cars of varying makes and 16 Greyhound buses on two ramps on the east side of Planet Hollywood, Paris Las Vegas and Bally’s. Pastrana then cleared the fountains in front of Caesars Palace, and the guy made it look so easy. He couldn’t have seemed more leisurely if he had been tooling around on an old 10-speed bike. The made-for-TV event was a winner for Caesars Entertainment, which is bringing a Nitro Circus show (with Pastrana’s creative vision) to Bally’s Jubilee Theater in spring 2019. The 90-minute show is a partnership with Nitro Circus and Base Entertainment. Sunday’s “Evel Live” provided a launching pad for that production on the Strip, but the triple-jump event itself was a major undertaking. “This is a concept we had talked with the Knievel family about two years ago and have been working since to bring it to fruition,” Caesars Entertainment senior vice president and chief marketing officer Ryan Thompson said Sunday after Pastrana safely cleared his fountains attempt. “We were lucky to find great partners in Nitro Circus who helped us to bring this to life with Travis and the History Channel.” Thompson referred to Pastrana as “a new icon in Las Vegas,” and after his roaring reception at two venues, it’s hard to argue. Though Pastrana was the central superstar Sunday, he is not to be a regular onstage performer in the Bally’s show. Instead, he’ll use his promotional skills and creative passion to spark interest in the unique Strip theatrical experience. “I am so psyched about this show,” Pastrana said in a release announcing the show Monday morning. “It’s going to be totally different from anything we’ve done and unlike anything ever staged before in action sports.” Though the show’s name is yet to be announced, Producers have provided more details about the production since I first wrote of it Thursday, and also since Pastrana promised “a pretty amazing show” on Friday. The show will feature motocross, BMX and “the best in skate, scooter and Nitro Circus’ infamous contraptions,” according Monday’s news release. Multiple ramps will extend through the theater, to a platform stage and also to the side walls. Video screens are being developed as the old room that was host to “Jubilee” for more than three decades undergoes a multimillion-dollar overhaul. “For the first time, guests will be able to see these action-sports athletes up close and personal in an intimate setting where the stunts will be all the more impressive,” said Jason Gastwirth of Caesars Entertainment. “We have been working on this project for several years in order to create a spectacular show that would showcase what Nitro Circus is all about to Las Vegas and to the world,” Nitro Circus President Andy Edwards said. “We are so excited to be finally making that dream a reality.” The daredevils to star in the show are yet to be announced, as are ticket prices and the show’s schedule. It is presented as an open-ended residency. An energetic showman is to navigate the entire production.Though that person is not named, we can think of one guy who’d be great in that role — if he wants to jump in. John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.<doc-sep>Travis Pastrana, professional motorsports competitor and stunt performer, at the Caesars Palace casino-hotel in Las Vegas, Friday, July 6, 2018. Pastrana will be attempting to jump the Caesars Palace fountains in tribute to Evel Knievel on Sunday. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco Travis Pastrana, professional motorsports competitor and stunt performer, wears Dare Devil socks, part of the Evel Knievel x Stance collection, during an interview at the Caesars Palace casino-hotel in Las Vegas, Friday, July 6, 2018. Pastrana will be attempting to jump the Caesars Palace fountains in tribute to Evel Knievel on Sunday. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco Travis Pastrana, professional motorsports competitor and stunt performer, is interviewed at the Caesars Palace casino-hotel in Las Vegas, Friday, July 6, 2018. Pastrana will be attempting to jump the Caesars Palace fountains in tribute to Evel Knievel on Sunday. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco Travis Pastrana, professional motorsports competitor and stunt performer, is interviewed at the Caesars Palace casino-hotel in Las Vegas, Friday, July 6, 2018. Pastrana will be attempting to jump the Caesars Palace fountains in tribute to Evel Knievel on Sunday. Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco Travis Pastrana outside of Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. (Las Vegas News Bureau) Evel Knievel jumps the fountains at Caesars Palace on 12-31-67 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo courtesy: Las Vegas News Bureau) Evel Knievel jumps the fountains at Caesars Palace on 12-31-67 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo courtesy: Las Vegas News Bureau) It has been roughly 50 years since Robert Craig Knievel Jr. of Butte, Montana, tried to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace on a flat track motorcycle and basically was carried away in a bag, his skeletal system resembling Humpty Dumpty’s in the nursery rhyme. Travis Alan Pastrana of Annapolis, Maryland — often referred to as the modern-day Evel Knievel — will be attempting to replicate the stunt, and two others for which his brash predecessor was known, all on the same day in Las Vegas as part of “Evel Live,” a three-hour tribute to the daredevil and pop culture icon that airs live on the History Channel Sunday. Pastrana was talking at high rpms when he paused for a moment of levity. “Dude,” he said, cranking back on the throttle. “I’ll be wearing a cape.” Even Knievel lived in Las Vegas for many years after mending and appearing on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and inspiring a line of transcendent toy Skycycles. He was 69 when he died in 2007, leaving like-minded imitators such as Pastrana to carry on his legacy. In a made-for-TV event he would have no doubt admired, 11-time X Games gold medalist Pastrana will attempt to jump at least 52 flattened cars and then 16 Greyhound buses in a parking lot behind Planet Hollywood Resort, Paris Las Vegas and Bally’s on Sunday afternoon, before making the short hop over to Caesars to fly over the fountains in a style befitting the gladiators of ancient Rome. Will it be thumbs up or down? Pastrana’s Indian Scout FTR750 will be a bit faster and lighter than Evel Knievel’s rudimentary Harley Davidson for which it is modeled, thereby reducing the degree of difficulty for taking flying leaps into history. Or at least the History Channel. But as they say on TV, one still should not try this at home. Three jumps you’re out “Caesars Palace, the fountain jump, has got to be the most iconic stunt jump location in the world,” Pastrana said as he continued practicing for the stunts, something Evel Knievel rarely did. “To have an opportunity to go there and end the night …” The popular 34-year-old extreme sports star chuckled at his rueful choice of words. “Hopefully not the end of the night,” he said, his meaning clear. He already has earned the respect of one who plans to be among the curious onlookers and bystanders. “The televised event starts at 4 p.m., right in the heat of the day, and the guy’s gonna have salty sweat dripping in his eyes,” said Kelly Knievel, Evel’s 57-year-old son and a longtime Las Vegan himself. “Seriously, the farthest my dad ever jumped was 14 buses; Travis is jumping 16 buses, and he’s doing the 50-car jump, and I don’t know what he’s going to do at Caesars, because they’ve changed the way it’s laid out over there so much. “If you walk out to the top of the ramp and look out over the 16 buses, I don’t care what kind of motorcycle you’re on. Strap yourself in, fire it up and see if you can hang on.” Kelly Knievel, who has a licensing deal with Pastrana’s Nitro Circus stunt tour, said he believes his dad would have admired Pastrana’s talent and moxie. “If you’re going to be a daredevil, you’ve got to be smart, you’ve got to be skilled, you’ve got to be an athlete,” Knievel said. “And you’ve got to be able to put people in the stands. Nobody cares about daredevils if you can’t put people in the stands. “Travis can put people in the stands. “He’s the first guy to do a double backflip on a motorcycle, he’s won motocross championships, he is a great motorcycle extreme sports guy, he’s won the X Games. He’s very skilled at what he does.” Passing torches Travis Pastrana has a phalanx of engineers and laptop technicians to deduce ramp angles and takeoff speeds, whereas Evel Knievel mostly had a walking stick and a shot of Wild Turkey and said “let’s do this,” provided Jim McKay and “Wide World of Sports” are interested. Time marches on. Envelopes are pushed. Torches are passed. Inherent risk has been replaced to some degree by interpretive flair courtesy of freewheeling artists such as Pastrana and before him, Mike Metzger, a freestyle motorcycle impresario who made a successful shorter jump over the Caesars fountains in 2006. Metzger even added an audacious midair backflip on his tricked-out dirt bike. (Metzger’s attempt was one of four fountains jumps. Gary Wells crashed in 1980; the Knievel family is batting .500 — Robbie, Evel’s son and Kelly’s little brother, succeeded in 1989.) “It’s 50 years later, of course there is change,” Kelly Knievel said. “But you’ve still got to hang on to the motorcycle. (My dad) was ahead of his time and the greatest in his day, but it’s a new day.” Pastrana said he must have been 12 years old when he and his parents met Evel Knievel, who was judging a Hawaiian Tropics swimsuit contest. He told the pompadour-wearing daredevil about the supercross race he had just won; he said Knievel replied ‘That’s great, son, now go get me a beer.’” There’s a chance the story has been embellished. But only a small chance. “So many of the kids coming up don’t understand who Evel Knievel was and what impact he had,” Pastrana said. “To be able to recreate his jumps at this stage of my career is such an honor, and hopefully we can help carry on Evel’s legacy to the next generation.” Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.<doc-sep>
Action sports star Travis Pastrana successfully jumped the fountains at Caesars Palace Sunday night, completing his attempt to replicate three of legendary daredevil Evel Knievel’s most iconic jumps on the same day. Travis Pastrana jumps over the fountains at Caesars Palace on an Indian Scout FTR750 motorcycle during "Evel Live," a three-hour live tribute show to stuntman Evel Kneivel, in Las Vegas on Sunday, July 8, 2018. Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph Daredevil Travis Pastrana jumps over 52 crushed cars on an Indian Scout FTR750 motorcycle during "Evel Live," a three-hour live tribute show to stuntman Evel Knievel, in a lot behind Planet Hollywood hotel-resort in Las Vegas on Sunday, July 8, 2018. Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph Travis Pastrana jumps over the fountains at Caesars Palace on an Indian Scout FTR750 motorcycle during "Evel Live," a three-hour live tribute show to stuntman Evel Kneivel, in Las Vegas on Sunday, July 8, 2018. Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph Daredevil Travis Pastrana jumps over 52 crushed cars on an Indian Scout FTR750 motorcycle during "Evel Live," a three-hour live tribute show to stuntman Evel Knievel, in a lot behind Planet Hollywood hotel-resort in Las Vegas on Sunday, July 8, 2018. Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph Attendees pull out their phones to capture Travis Pastrana jump over 52 crushed cars on an Indian Scout FTR750 motorcycle at the Evel Live event where Travis Pastrana attempted to exceed three of Evel Knievel's famous jumps in a lot behind Planet Hollywood hotel-resort in a lot behind Planet Hollywood hotel-resort in Las Vegas, Sunday, July 8, 2018. The show was produced by the History Channel in partnership with Nitro Circus. Rachel Aston Las Vegas Review-Journal @rookie__rae Julie Askim points for her grandson Sawyer Tuck, 4, as Jessica Tuck holds her son Oliver Tuck, 2, as they watch Travis Pastrana jump over 52 crushed cars on an Indian Scout FTR750 motorcycle at the Evel Live event in a lot behind Planet Hollywood hotel-resort in Las Vegas, Sunday, July 8, 2018. The show was produced by the History Channel in partnership with Nitro Circus. Rachel Aston Las Vegas Review-Journal @rookie__rae It has been said that only The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men. But Evel may no longer lurk under the jumpsuit of Travis Pastrana. Paying homage to legendary daredevil Evel Knievel, Pastrana successfully re-created three of his most iconic jumps on a sweltering Sunday in Las Vegas. The 34-year-old action-sports star vaulted over 52 flattened cars and 16 buses in a vacant lot behind Planet Hollywood Resort before successfully landing a jump over the ornamental fountains at Caesars Palace, a stunt that nearly took his predecessor’s life on New Year’s Eve in 1967. The jumps were part of “Evel Live,” a three-hour tribute to Knievel’s legacy that aired live on History in partnership with Nitro Circus, an action-sports tour co-founded by Pastrana. “Man, it’s such an honor to live a day in Evel’s footsteps — and literally in his boots,” the personable Pastrana said on the landing ramp as a huge crowd of onlookers cheered. “To be here in Las Vegas, so much of my history has been here. I proposed to my wife (Lyndsey) here; I had my first Nitro Circus show here. “So thank you to everyone watching, and thank you to all in Evel’s family for coming out and helping my dream come true. I’m not done yet, but this was one of the coolest things — the coolest thing — I’ve ever done.” Pastrana made the jumps on an Indian Scout FTR750, a more advanced motorcycle that resembled the Harley-Davidson used by Knievel. “I’m jumping a bike that’s not made for jumping,” Pastrana said after arriving in Las Vegas. “This is a tribute back to when men were men and bikes weren’t meant to fly. “In order to get here and to do all this stuff, Evel Knievel had to be a showman, he had to be a salesman, he had to convince people he could fly a motorcycle.” On Sunday, Pastrana wore white leathers, boots and a cape similar to Knievel’s iconic costume. He convinced huge throngs at both jump sites that he could fly a motorcycle, too. He covered 143 feet over the crushed cars and 192 feet over the buses in the first two jumps, bettering Knievel’s records. After making the short jaunt up Flamingo Road to make the showstopper jump, Pastrana soared 149 feet over the fountains with little run-up.