Made by Chrysler Corporation / Dodge to promote their automobiles, “The Hell Driver Formula” features Jack Kochman’s famous stunt car team. It dates to about 1981 and is narrated by Lindsey Nelson.

Opening: people in the grand stands watch and wait. A man wraps straps around himself and tugs on another strap. Wearing a helmet, the man stands on the back of a car and the car speeds towards a fire that was set, the man lowers himself in the flames at a fast speed and the title appears: THE HELL DRIVER FORMULA (:07-:39). Dodge Aries cars drive towards pallets, hit them and teeter on their sides on two wheels. Spins, skids, jumps, fast driving – all perpetuated by pro drivers. Drivers hold American flags. These men make up the world famous Hell Drivers. The best driver, stunt driver Peter Gross, skids in his car, exits, and waves. The most versatile driver, John Weisner, skids in his car, exits, and waves. The next driver, Rick Stark, skids in his car, exits, and waves. From Denmark, Tony Peterson, skids in his car, exits, and waves. 7 year veteran Dick Langdon skids in his car, exits, and waves. These men are the Hell Drivers. An announcer calls the action as the Hell Drivers drive bumper to bumper over an obstacle. A child looks, people clap (:40-2:26). The drivers round a corner and weave in and out of a straight line. People in the crowd clap. In sets of two, the cars race over an obstacle side by side. The four cars do side by side and then hit an obstacle to tilt their cars staying in formation. Tony Peterson speaks about what he does. Inside the car with Tony as he drives. The four cars drive side by side and merge. A county fair. Young children ride rides as do older Americans. Prizes on a wall. A sign for Jack Kochman’s World Champion Hell Drivers (2:27-4:17). Rick Stark on a motorcycle, his foot on the gas, his gloved hand grips the handle bar. He drives away. A man places gasoline on a flame wall. The wall is lit. Rick crashes himself through the wall. It is then shown in slow motion. Rick Stark skids and waves. Five men lay in front of a ramp. Happy the Clown looks for a short volunteer, number six. Happy is then placed as the sixth man but the other five leave and a motorcycle drives fast towards Happy. He jumps over Happy, nearly missing his behind (4:18-6:02). People wander the fair. They eat, drink, play games, and ride on rides. Lambs, food. People in the grandstands. Old time stills of cars crashing head on, a car jumping and crashing, a car jumping, cars on a race track, A clown in between cars, cars on their sides, cars lined up (6:03-7:21). Happy the Clown wanders the race track. Two cars race by and jump Happy. Car drives backwards and then turns to drive forward. Tony Peterson speaks about his job. A mechanic works on the car’s engine. The Dodge Aries drives, close on the car’s logo. POV shot from inside the cars while on the track (7:22-10:11). The cars race down the dirt track. One of the cars drives on its side, on two wheels. Peter drives on two wheels and stops at the last moment from hitting Happy the Clown. Tony and Peter pass each other on two wheels and then drive a turn on two wheels, they then meet on the backtrack and pass one another again on two wheels. The cars stop nose to nose and drop to four wheels. Happy the Clown is on top of the car while Tony drives on two wheels. Happy is still on the roof (10:12-12:48). Motorcycle driven by Rick jumps over a set of cars off a ramp. He takes in the cheers of the crowd. POV shot of getting into a car and driving it like a stunt driver. The cars ride over obstacles. The drivers clap as the car comes to a stop. A truck is driven through a ring of fire by Peter Gross during the day. The truck is driven through the ring of fire at night (12:49-15:41). End credits (15:42-16:12).

Jack Kochman put on automobile thrill shows for more than four decades. After Earl “Lucky” Teter’s fatal crash at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis in 1942, Kochman purchased the late stunt driver’s show equipment. Kochman wasn’t blind to the marketing capabilities of the thrill show business, and he started a long-standing sponsor relationship with tire companies and Dodge. Kochman started production of a second thrill show team in 1957 and a third in 1960. A fourth unit was produced for 1964 and 1965 to perform shows at the New York World Fair. Over the next five years, Kochman toured the world, selling out venues including the Houston Astrodome. In 1989, Kochman retired.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com