Hell Drivers Promo Film from the '80s

Tip of the hat to my buddy Al who sent me the link to this 1980s promo film for Jack Kochman's Hell Drivers, featuring "Jumpin' Johnny" Wisner.

I met Johnny 25 years ago, when I rented an old warehouse space in a rundown section of Sacramento. He owned the warehouse and the property next door - the only window in the place I rented looked out on a junkyard filled with old cars, including a neat black Renault 4CV that I drooled over. We got to talking and I found out that he was a stunt driver by profession, which is why he was gone every summer and fall - he was on the county fair circuit for months at a time.

After I'd known him a year or two Johnny called to invite me to an 'unauthorized' performance out at his house on an upcoming weekend. When he got bored, Johnny would organize outlaw stunt shows on the street in front of his house: he'd call a bunch of friends, block off the street, and spend the afternoon doing stunt crashes where he'd T-Bone cars, do ramp-to-ramp jumps, drive a car _through_ a parked van, and other auto mayhem. It was amazing. And totally illegal, of course. Eventually I started booking bands to play on a flatbed truck between crashes, so we had a real multimedia spectacular - until the cops shut the whole thing down.
This promo film focuses on the Hell Drivers precision driving part of the show (no crashes), and features the team of drivers doing synchronized tricks in matching Aries K Cars. The most amazing part is when two drivers circumnavigate the track driving cars on two wheels! Johnny was still wearing the short-sleeved orange jumpsuits you see in this video when I met him.

I've heard many, many stories about life on the show circuit, but this is the first film footage I've seen of Johnny in the heyday of his stunt show career. Johnny quit working the circuit probably 20 years ago, but always missed it. Then, about 10 years ago he bought the Hell Drivers franchise, and has been back on the county fair circuit again.

He's really hoping that the quarantine loosens up enough for him to do at least a few shows this season. Me too, but until we get the all-clear, at least we'll this to hold us over....