EVEL 2015 KNIEVEL DAYS WELCOME TO BUTTE! 4T RS H AN OTO G NUAL MILE HIGH M S! IVEA DAY WAY DURING KNIEVEL Stop By Mile High Motors’ Booth And Enter To Win A New Vehicle - Prize given away Saturday Night! PREVIOUSPrevious year’s WINNERSwinners Randy o’leary Mike Banderhoff Rebecca Marshall WHOWHO WILL WIN THIS YEAR It could be YOU! MILE HIGH MOTORS ON HARRISON AVE., NEXT TO WALMART BUTTE, MONTANA Sales: (855) 463-7103 Other Inquiries: (406) 533-3634 www.MileHighCJD.com 3 • EVEL KNIEVEL DAYS • 2015 CONTENTS 5 RISK JOCKEYS 10 OVERVIEW OF EVENTS 12 MAP OF VENUES 14 BIG RED HAULER 15 THRILLBILLIES 18 ROBBIE KNIEVEL JUMP 20 NEW ATTRACTIONS 25 URBAN DOWNHILL RACE 25 W. Granite • Butte, MT 59701 • 406-496-5500 WWW.MTSTANDARD.COM General Manager Lynn Lloyd Editor David McCumber Advertising Director Jenean Kujawa Graphic Design Missy Robertson Corey Gransbery Erica Yakawich Advertising Sales Dee Scalabrin Nonie Swan Regan Tabor-From Jackie Thompson Leah Crossman Advertising Assistants Matt Jozovich Beth Walsh 4 • EVEL KNIEVEL DAYS • 2015 5 • EVEL KNIEVEL DAYS • 2015 RISK JOCKEYS EVEL KNIEVEL DAYS KEEPING THE DAREDEVIL SPIRIT ALIVE By Paula J. McGarvey for The Montana Standard There will be adrenalin in the air as dozens of daredevils descend on Butte and the city celebrates its home town hero at the annual Evel Knievel Days. Held July 23-25, the free three-day event draws more than 55,000 people each day to Uptown Butte to witness death-defying and risky feats performed by some of the world’s most renowned extreme sports athletes. “What truly makes this event special is that participants in these extreme sports come to Evel Knievel Days each year to honor their hero, Evel Knievel,” Austin James, Evel Knievel Days coordinator, said. continue on pg 6 6 • EVEL KNIEVEL DAYS • 2015 RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCES James said that this year’s events will be taking Evel Knievel Days (EK Days) to a new level, with at least five attempts at breaking extreme sports and other world records. • The road will be rumbling when Butte’s own “Tour de Evel,” the traditional motorcycle parade and cruise around Evel Knievel Loop, attempts to break the current world record of 160 vintage motorcycles in a parade. • The Kamikaze Kid, Levi Troutman, aka “Wyoming’s Only Daredevil,” is known for his extreme fire stunts, James said. Troutman will attempt to set a new world record on Friday by physically running through 10 fire- walls on East Park Street, just east of Sparky’s Garage. • Bryan Spangler, aka Spanky Spangler Jr., son of the legendary stunt man, Spanky Spangler, will attempt to set a new record for jumping a car in reverse on Saturday on East Park Street, just east of Sparky’s Garage. ACTION PACKED EVENTS EvelKross Offers $10,000 Purse EK Days will be taking endurocross to a whole new level with Butte’s own version of the event, called “EvelKross.” James said that the event will be a dash for the cash, with a $10,000 purse awarded to the winner. Preliminary heats on the 8-lap course begin on Thurs- day, with top professional riders progressing through Friday to the main event on Saturday. During the final • Gregg Godfrey, father of Nitro Circus (a traveling race, top riders will crowd the course and jockey for action sport collective) will attempt to shatter the cur- position as they compete for the cash prize. rent world record for semi-truck jumping while in a semi-truck on Friday on East Park Street, just east of James describes endurocross as the most difficult race Sparky’s Garage. Godfrey will attempt to jump 100 feet on two wheels. over Evel Knievel’s original, restored semi-truck, named the “Big Red Hauler.” He hopes to break the existing 60 “It’s motocross on steroids,” James said. foot world record for semi- jumping and exceed it by an “EvelKross will be an endurocross race that’s all things additional 40 feet. Evel—and we’ll Knievel it up from there,” he added. The EvelKross course will be set at the Original Mine • Keeping it in the family, Gregg Godfrey (see above) Yard, between the mine yard buildings. The course will be traveling with his nephew, Tanner Godfrey, who will consist of obstacles designed to simulate tough was paralyzed below the waist after a motorcycle crash Montana-style terrain, including creek beds, logs, rocks, in 2007. The Godfreys have another record-breaking culverts and other challenging obstacles, James said. surprise lined up for the crowds, prior to Godfrey’s jump on Friday, James said. Details for a fifth record attempt will be announced during EK Days. 7 • EVEL KNIEVEL DAYS • 2015 THRILLBILLIES MEGA-RAMP SHOW If you’re looking for a daily dose of excitement, don’t miss the Thrillbillies Mega-Ramp Show, running three times a day throughout EK Days. James said that dare- devils on bikes, rollerblades, skateboards, and mountain boards (a cross between a skateboard and snowboard) will be careening down a ski-jump style ramp, flying airborne over a 35-foot gap, and touching down on an oversized landing ramp. The ramps will be positioned just opposite of the Original headframe on the west side of the mine yard and feature a number of riders who have appeared at the X-Games and MTV’s Nitro Circus. “It’s definitely not for the faint-hearted,” James said. MOTORCYCLE JUMPING This year’s EK Days will feature Jason Bird, out of Taft, Calif. on Saturday. “Bird” is a past motorcycle jumping record holder, and has successfully jumped distances as EVEL URBAN DOWNHILL far as 420 feet, James said. Bird will be going for the MOUNTAIN BIKE RACE distance on East Park Street just east of Sparky’s Garage. Last year, EK Days held the first urban downhill moun- tain bike race in the U.S., winding through a mile long THE SKATE CHALLENGE course in Uptown Butte with a 550-foot vertical drop There won’t be a speed limit for skateboarders on Main extending over a 7.8 percent grade. The event is back St. in Uptown Butte during the EK Days Skate Chal- for the second year on Thursday and Friday of EK Days lenge. James said the street running from the Federal and though it will roughly match the drop and grade of Court House down to the intersection of Granite Street last year’s course, it will prove even more challenging will be transformed into an extreme skate board course. than last year’s run, James said. The course will begin at We’ll have some professional riders on Saturday, but the Mt. Con Mine hoist house and descend into Uptown amateurs will be able to enter, compete and ride the Butte through mining reclamation areas and urban ter- course on Friday,” James said. rain, ending at Arizona St. Once again, the course will feature “Evel Element” obstacles including some of the “A main part of EK Days is to introduce people to these daredevil’s original ramps. The course will include a sports and offer a venue for those, both amateur and pro- mandatory delivery truck “wall ride” where cyclists must fessional, who want to compete,” he said. launch themselves sideways onto the side of a stationary delivery truck—wheels on wall—riding parallel to the The course will include a take off ramp, a car jump, 30 ground below. foot slides and end with a quarter pipe ramp at the finish. “There’s no place on earth like Butte to host this one-of- a-kind event,” James said. continue on pg 8 EK DAYS BY THE NUMBERS • Every $1 dollar contributed to EK Days generates $50 toward • 800 cubic yards of dirt are brought in to Uptown Butte to Montana’s economy construct EK Day race courses and events. (University of Montana Bureau of Tourism and Recreation Research) • Approximately 50 people volunteer each year to help run the • EK Days attendance has been increasing by approximately 5,000 EK Days event people per year since the event started in 2003. • 96 concrete Jersey barriers are used to create borders in and • 55,000 people attend each day of the three days that the EK Days around courses and Uptown events event is held Source: Austin James, Evel Knievel Days Coordinator 8 • EVEL KNIEVEL DAYS • 2015 FREESTYLE MOTOCROSS JUMPING OTHER EVENTS Always a crowd pleaser, Freestyle Motocross Jumping Other events this year include a freestyle motocross is returning to Broadway, across from the Broadway show, street bike stunt performance, wakeboard stunt Garage. James said Mat Hoffman, Multi-BMX record show, and a Play with Gravity Mototrials performance, holder, will be announcing the event, which will in- James added. clude top BMX riders from across the continent. Rid- ers include Canadian Jolene Van Vugt. “She’s the only The kid’s activities, great food, vendors, car and mo- woman in the world to land a back flip on a motorcy- torcycle Show and Shine will also be back, along with cle,” James said. “Cowboy” Kenny Bartram, an 11-time musical performances by three tribute bands, covering X-Game medalist and Bryce Hudson, X-Game Gold Guns-n-Roses, Metallica and AC/DC hits on Friday. medalist will also be in town for the event. Country music artist Tim Montana will headline on Sat- urday. Also performing will be High Voltage (who has “There will be a slew of other riders, including Butte’s opened for the Foo Fighters), James said. own Levi Renz, a state wrestling champ, who graduated from Butte High,” James said.