Chevrolet Stunt Driving ~ The Joie Chitwood Thrill Show Newest Search for: Roadkill CustomsDIY Hot Rod Tech, Tools, Rides & Lifestyle Chevrolet Stunt Driving ~ The Joie Chitwood Thrill ShowThis site contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.Chevrolet Stunt Driving ~ The Joie Chitwood Thrill Show Roadkill Customs , , The “Thrill Driver’s Choice” ~ In 1956, Joie Chitwood Thrill Show drivers exclusively drove Chevrolet cars…The Joie Chitwood Thrill Show DriversJoie Chitwood Thrill ShowThe “Joie Chitwood Thrill Show” was an exhibition of auto stunt driving that became so successful, Chitwood gave up racing his racing career. Often called “Hell Drivers,” he had five units that for more than forty years toured across North America thrilling audiences in large and small towns alike with their death-defying automobile stunts.1956 Chevy Stunt Driving ~ The Joie Chitwood Thrill ShowHis 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.1956 Chevy Stunt Driving ~ The Joie Chitwood Thrill ShowThe show was featured during season 3 of CHiPs in an episode entitled “Thrill Show”.Chitwood’s show was credited by Evel Knievel as being his inspiration to become a daredevil.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. His grandson, Joie Chitwood III, is the President of Daytona International Speedway and a former president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.Who Is Joie Chitwood?George Rice “Joie” Chitwood (April 14, 1912 – January 3, 1988) was an American racecar driver and businessman. He is best known as a daredevil in the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show.Born in Denison, Texas of Cherokee Indian ancestry, he was dubbed “Joie” by a track promoter and the name stuck.Racing CareerChitwood started his racecar driving career in 1934 at a dirt track in Winfield, Kansas. From there, he began racing sprint cars. In 1939 and 1940 he won the AAA East Coast Sprint car championship. He switched to the CSRA and won its title in 1942.Between 1940 and 1950 competed at the Indianapolis 500 seven times finishing fifth on three different occasions. He was the first man ever to wear a safety belt at the Indy 500.StuntmanChitwood was frequently hired by Hollywood film studios to either do stunt driving for films or to act as auto-stunt coordinator. On a few occasions he appeared in a minor role, notably with Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck in the 1950 film about auto racing, To Please a Lady.In 1973, Chitwood is credited as a Stunt Coordinator for the hugely successful James Bond film Live and Let Die (film), where he was also the stunt driver and acted in a minor part.Safety ConsultantChitwood also acted as a car safety consultant, intentionally crashing vehicles for subsequent investigation. He had intentionally crashed more than 3000 vehicles by the time he appeared on the game show I’ve Got A Secret in 1965.RetirementWhen Chitwood retired, his sons took over the business. Joie Chitwood died in 1988, aged 75, in Tampa Bay, Florida.He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1993. He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2010 in the Historic category.About the VideoOriginally a public domain film from the Library of Congress Prelinger Archives, the video has been slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied. ()The soundtrack was processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original). Also of Interest: Follow Us on Flipboard Related Articles Technical Info Roadkill Customs Even from a simple walk through the wrecking yard, every engine bay offers the beginning of a powerhouse. [More…] Builds and Examples Roadkill Customs , Casey Loter and Electric 51 Speed Shop started this Chevy Apache EV as a side build, but a Tesla swap was not the original plan. 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You bring the gumption.We'll work to keep you motivated and informed and with industry news, product information and reviews, event coverage, and well-curated articles and stories intended to inspire and educate. Follow Us On Flipboard © 1996-2022 Roadkill Customs , Watch Joie Chitwood's Original Auto Daredevils perform death-defying crash-and-burn stunts in this great old Ford Motor Company film. We have to salute the entrepreneurial spirit of auto thrill show impresario Joie Chitwood (1912-1988). Taking over the daredevil show of the late Lucky Teeter in 1942, Chitwood turned crash-and-burn stunts…, This 1956 Chevrolet sales film stars the (at the time) world-famous Joie Chitwood. He was an American race car driver and businessman best known as a daredev.