Could Travis Pastrana Attempt to Jump the Grand Canyon Next?

• Travis Pastrana captured our attention by jumping the fountain at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Sunday, July 8th
• Could the modern-day Evel Knievel attempt to jump the Grand Canyon next?

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Travis Pastrana paid tribute to his childhood hero on Sunday night by replicating three of Evel Knievel’s most dangerous stunts. Dressed in his own white leather jumpsuit and riding a Knievel-like custom Indian Scout FTR750, Pastrana successfully attempted the three jumps in a single day.

He cleared 52 crushed cars, then 16 Greyhound buses, and finally he soared over the famed Caesars Palace fountain.

Pastrana didn’t just pay tribute to the late stuntman with his three feats, he went a little better. He topped both Knievel’s car and bus jump record by two vehicles, and unlike Knievel, he managed to stick the landing after flying over the Caesars Palace fountain.

The three feats just add to Pastrana’s long list of accomplishments in the world of action sports. What’s next for the modern-day Evel Knievel?

What Will Travis Pastrana Try Next?

It’s the feat Evel Knievel was never allowed to attempt. After the Caesars Palace crash, which left him in a coma for almost a month, Knievel turned his attention to the Grand Canyon. He spent several years seeking approval for the jump from the Federal Government but was turned down each time.

In 1999, Evel Knievel’s son, Robbie Knievel, was granted permission to jump the Grand Canyon. Knievel cleared 228 feet but could not stick the landing, crashing and breaking his leg.

Here’s a canyon that Evel Knievel actually attempted. However, his parachute prematurely deployed and the winds dragged him down towards the waters below. Knievel came within inches of certain death but luckily did not land in water where he would have drowned.

Stuntman Eddie Braun successfully completed the stunt in 2016.

Pastrana performed the first Double Backflip on a motorcycle in competition, winning him the gold medal at the 2006 X Games. Josh Sheehan, Pastrana’s buddy at Nitro Circus, went one better with a triple backflip in 2013.

Riding a Top Oil-Ack Attack streamliner, a motorcycle that more closely resembles a rocket, Rocky Robinson clocked a max speed of 376 mph and broke the motorcycle land-speed record. That was in 2010 and the record hasn’t been broken since. The Bonneville salt flats has been the place to break land speed records since the 50’s.

Felix Baumgartner broke the record for highest altitude and longest free fall record in 2012 when he jumped from over 128,000 feet. Alan Eustace went a little higher two years later when he jumped from 135,908 feet.