LOXLEY, Ala. — Fifty-two cars. One motorcycle. One man. One very long jump. That was what more than 6,000 fans came Saturday night to Deep South Speedway in Loxley to see. The late Evel Knievel jumped over 50 stacked and crushed cars in 1973 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Professional daredevil Bubba Blackwell broke one of, possibly the last, of his hero's records with the Saturday night jump.

“We’ve been getting ready the last couple of days,” said Blackwell who currently makes his home in Bon Secour a few hours before the jump. Originally, the jump was to be 42 cars in honor of Blackwell's 42nd birthday that day, but when he found out about Knievel's record, adding another 10 cars seemed to be the thing to do.

“Now, there’s nothing I can do,” he added as he reached for a well-wisher’s hand and signed the t-shirt of a wide-eyed young fan.

While it looks easy, or at least quickly thrown together, there was nothing impromptu about Blackwell’s jump. He and his crew at been at Deep South for about five days setting up the stunt, which involved installing a ramp at the top of the track’s “turn 2” and making sure that his motorcycle, a Harley XR-750, was in good shape for the jump.

In fact, it was making sure that the Harley (the same type Knievel used for his jumps) was good to go that was giving his crew fits beforehand.

“The rear shock broke,” said Van Rayburn, Blackwell’s head mechanic, shaking his head. “He was making a speed run and it broke. Oil and nitrogen came out.”

Finding parts to make the fix wasn’t easy. And making sure the fix was perfect was crucial. The shock sits under the seat, and according to Rayburn, if it had happened during a jump, “the rear end would have fallen off.”

While others in the crew had heard of the situation, this was a first in the 35 years Rayburn had been a mechanic.

This was something Bubba’s fans in the stands didn’t know.

Kimberly Byrd, 8, a student at Silverhill Elementary School said, “I hope he won't get in a wreck.”

She gave a big nod when she was asked if she thought Blackwell was “crazy.”

The repair was not easy. Local motorcycle dealers don’t normally stock the parts, and Team Blackwell was calling all over the southeast looking for them. They were found in Mobile, and Rayburn had the job of patching the bike back together.

“The only thing that’s not standard on this bike are the heavy duty shocks and the heavy duty front forks,” Rayburn said.

Zack Nabors, also a Silverhill Elementary School student was a little more confident.

“I think he’s going to make it,” said Nabors

Setting up the jump took a fair amount of physics and mathematics. Like any projectile, Bubba and his motorcycle would travel in an arc for a set distance based on the combined weight of the projectile (in this case, the bike and Bubba) the angle of the jump and the "takeoff" speed of the projectile. According to Bubba, he had to hit the takeoff point going 78 mph in order to clear the cars.

But what if he didn't make it?

Members of the Stapleton Volunteer Fire Department were standing by.

“I’ve seen Bubba jump before,” said Stapleton Fire Chief Dale Pouncy, referring to Blackwell’s Foley jump several years ago.

The department was kept busy with several accidents on the track, and was in full turnout gear for the jump.

Kyle Denton, 10, of Bon Secour said he has not met Blackwell, but was looking forward to seeing him “make it.”

Jaybe Hayes of Spanish Fort was there to see three people risk themselves on the track. His mother, Angela Hayes and father Shannon Hodges would be racing cars during the evening's program, and he was anxious on Bubba's behalf.

“I just hope he makes it,” he said.

But it was the personal that tugged the heart. Bubba, a native of this area, had his wife, Jamie as part of his crew, and their daughter, Regan, 3, was waiting for the jump in the track’s “tower.” They met for a brief embrace after the jump.

And then it was time for Bubba to be a showman again.

“Anybody want me to do that again?” A grinning Bubba asked the crowd lined up for his autograph.