Bubba Blackwell Spotted at Springfield

| September 2, 2001
Harley-Davidson XR750-jumping motorcycle daredevil Bubba Blackwell (right) made the trek to the Illinois State Fairgrounds to catch the Labor Day Weekend tripleheader at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Blackwell stayed close to the Team Powell/Harley-Davidson of West Bend camp of J.R. Schnabel (left) during the Saturday Hall of Fame race. Blackwell is good friends with Schnabel’s team owners, Bill and Carolynn Powell.

Although he was forced to roll around in a wheelchair while his broken hip and pelvis heal, Blackwell says that his doctors are positive that he will make a 100-percent recovery from his near-fatal crash while attempting to set a record 22-car jump at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, California, two months ago.

“I’m in good shape,” Blackwell said. “I’ve got one more month to go.”

Blackwell says that he plans to jump again as soon as he is able.

“A lot of people misunderstand why I do this,” Blackwell said. “They think that I’m trying to emulate Evel Knievel by jumping an XR750. But really, I jump XRs because I idolize these dirt track guys so much. I never really got to race dirt track, but I always wanted to. So I figured out a way where I could make a living being like a Scotty Parker or a Jay Springsteen with an XR750. I love these guys for what they do.”

Blackwell had just picked up factory support from Buell motorcycles just before his accident, and he is also anxious to return and fulfill his commitments to them.

 

By Scott Rousseau