Legends: Joie Chitwood

Born in St. Joseph, Mo., in 1912, Joie Chitwood wanted to race anything he could get his hands on and he passed that adventurous spirit down to his son and his son’s son. Through his teenage years, Chitwood had been working as a race mechanic in the Midwest. When he took the place of the car’s driver, purely by chance, thus began an illustrious driving career that included numerous Sprint Car titles and a few trips to the Indy 500. Things changed during the Second World War when, as Joie II says, “racing was outlawed. They needed all the fuel and rubber for the war effort, so my grandfather’s career took a big turn.” Out of work, Chitwood happened to meet the widow of a man named O’Lucky Teeter, who died performing a stunt during his “thrill show.” The woman asked Chitwood to help her sell the show. By 1944, he bought the daredevil act and began the “Joie Chitwood Thrill Show,” traveling the country in the late 1940s as a stunt man. In the 1950s, he had five units touring the United States. His troupe barnstormed their way into small towns, country fairs and race tracks. Chitwood crashed cars, performed roll-over stunts and drove on two wheels. No one is quite sure why Chitwood did what he did for so long, subjecting himself to extreme conditions. “But I know he loved it,” his grandson said. It eventually had to end for Chitwood, but not for his family or his show. Joie Chitwood died in January, 1988, but through his sons and grandsons, his legacy lived on. Chitwood’s Thrill Show continues as one of America’s oldest and most prestigious touring stunt shows.