It's 1934 and Joie Chitwood is about to realize a dream. He and his pals cobbled together a trailer, loaded up his "stock" car and headed from Denison, TEXAS to a dirt track in Winfield, Kansas. What would just take us modern folks a handful of hours... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
The trucks use to park at the Chevy dealership Wernersville Pa.Two brothers drove for Chitwood.Their last name was Heck.They are in there 60's now.One of them did stunts for movies.Just thought I'd post that.
I remember seeing the Joie Chitwood Show at Hagerstown speedway in the early 70s...still have a few brochures, and I think even an autograph!!! Being 10-12 and watching brand new Camaros on 2 wheels, and being jumped thru cannons was awesome.And one of the brochures matches the poster above my post!
I don't know if it was the actual Chitwood show, but I remember the "Hell Drivers" performing every summer at the local fair in my hometown back in the mid 70's. That video brings back lots of great memories. Too bad about that '34 4-door at the end, though. LOL
That's the reason I still drive a Chevy today. And I've owned German and Japanese cars over the years.........
Interesting that they used 4 door sedans. I would have thought a post coupe would be better suited to the marketing and performance of this campaign. However, with the 4 doors they are showing that the family ride can be a performance machine.
I was a big fan. As a teen in the 1960's and totally consumed with cars, Chitwood was the coolest thing on "two wheels". I recall one show where Chris Economaki of ABC's Wide World of Sports introduced him to the crowd. Joie would then drive on a ramp to get onto two wheels. He was almost around the entire track on two wheels when his passenger climbed out the window and stood on the drivers side door, while Joey (who was driving) was waving to the crowd with his free left hand. The place went wild!!! and Chris Economaki (who was usually a consumate professional) just lost it -- he was absolutely floored. Those were the days! Thanks for the memories Joie!!!
What video? Where's the link? My dad took me to see the "Hell Drivers" when I was about 12 years old (61 now). I've always thought it would be cool to learn to drive on two wheels... Someone sent me a video about a year ago of a car balancing on two wheels while a couple of guys crawl out the passenger side window, change the rear wheel, and crawl back inside before the car settles back on all four!
WOW! I did not know that! The stock suspention for the era was far better than some of the other makers had at that time. Were there any improvements or changers good or bad for the 58 or 59 or did they just keep it the same in a longer, bigger car?
Our family went to see them at least twice at the local fair in Kirksville, MO. Must have been in '50 and '51, I remember they were running new Fords. I was 9 and 10 at that time and thought it was cool to see cars being used that way - not racing but still an exciting show for a summer afternoon. There was a Tucker on display one year, perhaps '48 or '49? - engine in the rear, that really got my attention. Thanks for bringing back those memories.
"Joie set a world record by driving a Chevette 5.6 miles on just two wheels" I thought that was a typo, a Chevette going 5.6 miles on two wheels. A Chevette had a hard enough time going 5.6 miles on all four wheels... Cool story!
He also apparently inspired a lot of "sideshow" drivers here around the Oakland area. I was sure they had some kind of inspiration and always wondered where it came from. Now I know.
Very cool Ryan... I'm related to him somehow...?.. (I don't know the Details) I'm sure it has something to do with "someone hooking up with someone" Thanks, Joshua Shaw
It's a little off topic, but relates to the "Thrill SHow" Check out this REAL add in a local paper from 1934!
Well, that was during the first great depression. Hope we aren't headed quite back to those good old days where that was a viable offer to consider to make a few bucks. If you die doing the job, well that's just too damn bad. I like how you apparently could pick the sex of your workers back then - obviously not a job for a lady of course.
Obviously a busy guy,credited here with designing Selinsgrove Speedway in 1945 in Pa. http://www.selinsgrovespeedway.com/speedwayhistory.html
I remember seeing Joie Chitwood Thrill Show at the New Smyrna speedway in 1979...I was 7 years old...I can remember it like yesterday! For the time they did some amazing shit!
Courtesy of the Hemmings Blog: a very cool article titled "Anatomy Of A Thrill Show", describing how the Chitwood show operated: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/...ack-anatomy-of-a-thrill-show-and-a-rare-find/
Cool story. Does anyone in Oz remember the "Canadian Hell Drivers" that toured Australia's fair grounds doing amazing stunts in EK Holden sedans during the '6o's?
I saw the Hell Drivers at the Beamsville Fair couple of times in the mid-70s and that's why I'm a stunt driver today... ok, well, I'm not a stunt driver, but they were still cool. http://helldriversmovie.wordpress.com/see-the-trailers/
I know this is a zombie thread, but the original video link is dead now and this needs to be seen! This is a a GM commercial "movie reel", I guess the prerunner of the infomercial: http://www.autotraderclassics.com/a...o.xhtml?articleId=46289&conversationId=138789 Am I the only one who cringed at the trashing of the long roof? And doing all this on the beach! HA! Man the EPA would hang you for rolling a car on the beach.
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