History:

At the end of the day, Travis Pastrana made leaping over 52 cars, 16 buses and the notorious fountain at Caesars Palace on two wheels look easy. Even in 100-plus-degree weather. Even using a heavy, stiff, flat-track bike unlike anything the action-sports stunt icon is used to jumping with.

The three back-to-back motorcycle stunts were planned as part of an ambitious night of daredevilry and endurance called Evel Live! Produced by History in conjunction with Nitro Sports, the event was designed to honor Evel Knievel, the history-making stunt cyclist and showman who became a pop-culture sensation in the 1960s and 70s—and inspired Pastrana’s own stunt-performance career, along with others of his generation. Pastrana sought to nail three of Knievel’s most outrageous jumps over a single, three-hour period. It’s something not even Knievel himself ever tried.

I grew up watching some of Knievel’s stunts on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports”. What Pastrana did was absolutely incredible.