A Chevrolet Corvette is designed to do a lot of things well.
Corner.
Accelerate.
Stop.
Make your neighbor question his financial priorities.
Flying through the woods was probably not in the engineering brief.
Naturally, Channel 199 decided this needed to be investigated.
And naturally, Jim York ended up in the driver's seat.
STEP ONE: ACQUIRE CORVETTE
The story began after Travis Pastrana won a new C8 Corvette Z06 at Cleetus McFarland's Freedom 500.
At some point, the completely reasonable idea emerged that the Corvette should be jumped.
There was one problem.
A new Z06 is a pretty expensive piece of equipment to turn into a lawn dart.
So the Z06 was sold and replaced with a standard C8 Corvette Stingray—a car considerably more appropriate for launching across a giant dirt gap in the woods, assuming you have abandoned the traditional definition of the word appropriate. Channel 199 then gave it a stars-and-stripes treatment and began working out whether the idea was actually possible.
THE NUMBER WAS 110 FEET
The jump and landing were built with a 110-foot gap between them.
The problem wasn't whether the C8 had enough power.
It had plenty.
The problem was getting a low-slung, mid-engine sports car up to exactly the right speed on a narrow dirt approach.
Too slow and the Corvette wouldn't reach the landing.
Too fast and Jim would discover whatever was located beyond it.
Neither option was particularly appealing.
The Channel 199 crew tested the setup using other vehicles and worked through the speed required to clear the gap. Pastrana's target was around 70 mph at takeoff.
There was also another minor obstacle.
Trees.
Lots of trees.
ENTER JIM YORK
This is generally the point in a story where a sensible person says:
“Interesting experiment. Good luck.”
Jim York put on a helmet.
Channel 199 describes Jim as a businessman turned amateur stuntman who will race basically anything with wheels, from Tuff Trucks and minivans to Baja Bugs.
His stated reason for being around all this?
He's here for the crash reel.
So with the testing complete and a Corvette pointed toward a dirt ramp in the woods, there really was only one thing left to do.
Send it.
THE C8 FLIES
Jim charged down the dirt approach and committed to the jump.
The Corvette hit the ramp.
And for a brief moment, a vehicle engineered to stay glued to pavement became an extremely patriotic airplane.
The C8 cleared more than 100 feet of open space, but the takeoff wasn't quite perfect. Data reviewed afterward showed the Corvette losing speed as it climbed the ramp, leaving Jim on the absolute edge of what was required to reach the other side.
The rear made it.
The nose had other plans.
The Corvette came down hard on the landing, nose-first, with enough force to deploy the airbag and damage the radiator.
Jim was okay.
And somehow, the Corvette was still surprisingly intact after being used in a manner that probably wasn't discussed during the original warranty meeting.
THAT COUNTS
Was it the perfectly smooth Hollywood landing?
No.
Was a nearly stock C8 Corvette sent across a 110-foot dirt gap in the woods with Jim York behind the wheel?
Absolutely.
Channel 199's own video called the project an attempt at the world's longest C8 Corvette jump, and the resulting footage spread well beyond the stunt world, earning coverage from automotive outlets including MotorTrend, Car and Driver and Hagerty.
Which brings us back to the only metric that really matters around here.
Did it make the crash reel?
Oh yeah.
AMERICAN STUNT SOCIETY CERTIFIED
This is what American Stunt Society is about.
Not recklessness for the sake of recklessness. The crew tested, calculated and prepared before putting Jim in the car.
But eventually, all the calculations in the world lead to the same moment:
You're strapped into a Corvette.
There's a dirt ramp in front of you.
There's 110 feet of nothing on the other side.
And somebody has to hit the gas.
Fortunately, Jim knows a guy.
I'm just here for the crash reel.
JOIN THE AMERICAN STUNT SOCIETY
You probably shouldn't jump your Corvette.
You can still dress like someone who would.