From a press release issued by Clear Channel Entertainment Motor Sports:
America’s Legendary Daredevil Evel Knievel to make appearance and sign autographs at the Dallas/Fort Worth BikeFest & Expo and the National Arenacross Series
AURORA, Ill. (November 26, 2003) – Clear Channel Entertainment’s Motor Sports division announced today that American Legendary Daredevil Evel Knievel will make appearances at the Dallas/Fort Worth BikeFest & Expo in conjunction with the Miller Lite National Arenacross Series at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas on January 2-4.
The Dallas/Fort Worth BikeFest & Expo will be held in conjunction with the 20th annual arenacross race with professional racing Friday and Saturday nights and the amateur championships Sunday afternoon. The expo will feature 2004 line-up of Motorcycles, ATV’s, Scooters from most major manufacturers along with a wide variety of high-performance and aftermarket products.
“This will be a huge weekend for fans to have the opportunity to meet Evel Knievel who is without a doubt the greatest daredevil of all time,” said Mike Kidd, vice president of Arenacross, Clear Channel Entertainment. “We are honored to have Evel be part of our motorcycle weekend that has something for the entire family.”
Knievel will make appearances all three days of the Dallas/Fort Worth BikeFest & Expo that will show his Rocket Powered Skycycle used for the Snake River Canyon jump along with his XR-750cc Harley-Davidson used to make his final three jumps in 1975. The Evel Knievel display will also have other memorabilia from Evel’s daredevil career.
Knievel began his daredevil career in 1965 and soon became the most recognizable name in the business. Some of his noteworthy events include:
Jan. 1, 1968 – Crashed in an attempt to clear the fountains at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
Jan. 8, 1971 – Cleared 13 cars, he drew a then record crowd to the Houston Astrodome.
Feb. 28, 1971 – Set World record at Ontario, CA by jumping 19 Dodge cars.
May 10, 1971 – Crashed in an attempt to clear 13 Pepsi Cola trucks in Yakima, WA
March 3, 1972 – Suffered serious injury in San Francisco’s Cow Palace when his motorcycle crashed in a very difficult landing area.
Feb. 18, 1973 – Taking off from the highest ski-style jump ramp ever used he thrilled the crowd of 35,000 by flying over 50 cars stacked in the center of the Los Angeles Coliseum.
August 20, 1974 – Soared 135 feet over 13 eight foot wide Mack Trucks at the Canadian National Exposition.
Sept. 8, 1974 – After two unsuccessful unmanned test flights Evel decided to keep his word to his fans and risked his life in a specially constructed rocket powered “Skycycle” in an attempt to clear the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. Even though he made it across the quarter mile wide chasm, strong winds blew the malfunctioning parachute back into the canyon, landing just a few feet from the swirling river in which he would have surely drowned.
May 31, 1975 – A record crowd of over 90,000 at Wembley Stadium in London, England watched as Evel crashed upon landing, breaking his pelvis after clearing 13 double-tiered buses.
October 25, 1975 – Defiant after the Wembley crash, Evel successfully jumped 14 Greyhound buses at King’s Island in Ohio. This ABC Wide World of Sports telecast still holds the all time audience record of a 52% viewing audience.
His popularity caught the attention of Warner Brothers, and they produced two major motion pictures on his life: “Evel Knievel” starring George Hamilton as Evel in his life story and “Viva Knievel”, a thriller starring Evel as himself.
The Evel Knievel motorcycle and memorabilia display by the Smithsonian Institute in their Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. has immortalized him as America’s Legendary Daredevil.
Tickets for the Dallas/Fort Worth BikeFest & Expo and the Miller Lite National Arenacross Series are now available at all ticketmaster outlets, participating Kawasaki dealers, or charge by phone at 214-373-8000 or 972-647-5700. Tickets will be available at the Will Rogers Coliseum Box Office on the day of the show. Tickets for the National Arenacross Series are $25 and $18 for Adults on Friday and Saturday and $12 on Sunday. Children ages 2 – 12 are only $5 on Friday night and free all weekend to the expo. Adults can save BIG when they purchase a combo tickets to the expo and arenacross.