We’re not sure what education this film was suppose to provide but we can offer some facts on the film’s star. Joie Chitwood was a well established racer prior to starting his own thrill show business.
Chitwood didn’t invent the thrill show and nobody knows exactly who did. The first guy to make it popular and perform stunts using newer cars, opposed to barely running wrecks from junkyards, was a driver from Noblesville, Indiana, with the ironic nick name of Earl “Lucky” Teter. Teter also owned race cars and Chitwood had raced for him many times.
Teter passed into eternity at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1942, his 1938 Plymouth sedan coming up fatally short on the ramp-to-ramp leap that Teter himself had perfected.
On July 4, 1942, the 41 year old Teter announced it was his last show prior to closing for the war effort. He made 3 jumps over a panel truck that day, each attempting a world record, beginning at 135 feet. His 4th and final jump was 150 feet and was dedicated “to all servicemen everywhere.”
Teter accelerated his bright yellow 1938 Plymouth onto the launching ramp while attempting to jump two Greyhound buses. His car came down short at the edge the landing ramp. The resulting crash broke his neck and he lost his life as the jump fell just a few feet short.
After Earl “Lucky” Teter’s fatal crash, the stunt driver’s show equipment was purchased by Jack Kochman and Joie Chitwood.
Washington banned auto racing for the war’s duration, but the law said nothing about fairgrounds thrill shows. That may be why Chitwood agreed to borrow money and buy the leftover thrill show vehicles and equipment from Teter’s widow in 1943. Since Teter left no plans or diagrams, Chitwood had to recalculate and reconstruct the stunts by estimate.
In addition to his Hollywood collaborations, from the 1950s on, Chitwood had a long partnership with Chevrolet, utilizing products from Chevettes to Corvettes in the family’s act. He also operated a successful Chevrolet dealership in Tampa, the thrill show’s home base.
Chitwood, who died at age 75 in 1988, was outlived by his show, which has performed for more than 50 consecutive years at an array of fairgrounds locations and race tracks. His show was so popular, that in January 1967, the performance at the Islip Speedway, New York was broadcast on ABC television’s Wide World of Sports.
On May 13, 1978, Joie Chitwood set a world record when he drove a Chevrolet Chevette for 5.6 miles (9.0 km) on just 2 wheels. His sons, Joie Jr. and Tim both joined the auto thrill show and continued to run the “Joie Chitwood Chevy Thunder Show” after their father’s retirement.
Chitwood’s show was credited by Evel Knievel as being his inspiration to become a daredevil.
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