Photo credit: Shawn McCullough, Sports Radio Service

By Shawn McCullough

As a little boy, Travis Pastrana idolized a man who became the most famous motorcycle stuntman in history.  His name was Evel Knievel.

Tonight, Pastrana paid tribute to Knievel by successfully completing three jumps that Knievel either completed or attempted.

• In November 1973, Knievel successfully jumped over 50 stacked cars at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. Pastrana increased the total crushed cars to 52 and easily cleared the 143-foot jump.
• In October 1975, Knievel successfully jumped 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Pastrana added two buses for a total of 16 and flew the 192 feet to nail the landing.
• In November 1967, Knievel attempted to jump the Caesars Palace fountains but came up a little short and crashed into the Dunes parking lot. Pastrana complete the trifecta of jumps and landed the 149 foot jump over the fountains.

For all three jumps, Pastrana rode an Indian Scout FTR750, an American motorcycle with a V-Twin engine.  Knievel rode a similar Harley flat-track bike.

The first two jumps took place in a vacant lot behind Planet Hollywood, while the third jump was held in front of Caesars Palace.  After the first two jumps, Pastrana rode the stunt bike with a police escort down Harmon and Las Vegas Boulevard to Caesars Palace.

Pastrana is an 11-time XGames gold medalist and has been very successful in both motocross and rally car racing.