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Black Cat drivers bring rolls, flames, thrills

The Black Cat Hell Drivers Stunt Show is coming to the West End Fair this year.

If you like the thrill of Hollywood-style car crashes and precision driving, high speed reverse spins, ramp to ramp changes, be sure to check them out.

Come prepared for the thrill and excitement of drivers who defy gravity and cars bursting into flames while the driver tries to escape the blazing inferno.

Johnny Wisner, creator of the Black Cat Hell Drivers, along with Chris Morena, world record stuntman, travel across the country, and are known for their nail-biting and edge-of-your-seat show.

A soft-spoken man from California, Wisner wanted to be a race-car driver but recalls that as a kid, it would take him forever to get up the nerve to try out a scary new ride. Then, after he overcame that initial fear and took his first plunge, all he wanted to do was just keep taking that same ride.

When he got to Lincoln, Nebraska, Wisner saw a poster for King Kovaz Auto Daredevils thrill show.

To get a start in the business, he got a job selling tickets in front of a ride for $7 a day, and on the last day of the fair, when the thrill show arrived, he asked the owner for a job.

Kovaz told him to come back when he turned 21, and one year later, Wisner did just that.

Wisner was asked where he got the name for his show. “I saw in one magazine a slogan Hell Drivers and I decided to name my show the Black Cat Hell Riders.”

After growing up watching shows such as “Dukes of Hazzard,” “Knight Rider” and “The Fall Guy” Morena looked up to the guys performing the action and stunts. Years later he met some local stuntmen in New York who invited him to training sessions performing high falls, stunt fighting, fire burns, stunt driving and more.

In 1996 he was asked to join “The Hollywood Stunt Show,” a touring thrill show that mostly included stunt driving and car crashes.

He moved to Orlando, Florida, in 2004 to help open and drive full time for “Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show” at Disney World.

Morena performed at Charlotte Motor Speedway, jumping a car towing a house trailer for a World Record of 160 feet in front of over 90,000 spectators.

The Black Cat Hell Drivers pride themselves on keeping an American tradition alive that dates back to 1934.

“I think we are such a popular attraction at fairs is because we provide the thrills that gets the spectators adrenaline going,” Wisner said.

The 70-minute show includes classic thrill show stunts, including multi-car precision stunt driving; two-wheel stunt driving; Hollywood-style car crashes; high speed reverse spins; motorcycle stunts, a thrill show clown, a 1937 Dodge sedan jump ramp to ramp and flames.

The Black Cat Hell Drivers will appear at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24 in the Main Area,

Tickets are $15 for general admission seats.

Black Cat Hell Drivers will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24 in the Main Arena. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO