Bubba Blackwell began his career on April 26, 1998, when he jumped 20 cars in Everett, Massachusetts at Boston Harley-Davidson, breaking the 19 car record held by Evel Knievel. The following year, on July 4, 1999 during an airing of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Blackwell jumped 14 buses at Del Mar Fair in California, tying the record held by Knievel, who leapt 14 buses at Kings Island in 1975. Five months later, Blackwell broke Knievel's bus-jumping record by jumping 15 buses. Blackwell broke Knievel's last remaining jump record on a Harley-Davidson XR-750 by jumping 52 stacked cars on October 4, 2008. The jump took place at the Deep South Speedway located between Pensacola, Florida and Mobile, Alabama. The jump also marked Blackwells's 41st birthday.
Accidents
On July 4, 2001, Blackwell attempted to beat his own record, attempting to jump 22 cars at Del Mar Fair. The Del Mar track was a soft dirt horse track and Blackwell lost traction and was unable to obtain the necessary speed to clear the jump. He came up short and crashed. The crash is featured on World's Most Amazing Videos, Shockwave and on the Discovery Channel's Destroyed In Seconds.
Return to jumping
Following the Del Mar crash, Blackwell retired from jumping and limited performances to the Buellstunt show. However, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Harley-Davidson, Blackwell returned to jumping his Harley-Davidson XR-750 at Ukes Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Dealer in Kenosha, Wisconsin on August 30, 2003. Blackwell planned to attempt to beat the XR-750 record again on June 12, 2010 by jumping 22 Ford Focus cars at the Rockingham Park in Salem, New Hampshire. However that event was cancelled. Blackwell is still periodically jumping the XR-750. In 2013, Blackwell jumped over two helicopters with their blades rotating. He also returned to Ukes Harley-Davidson for a jump to celebrate the 110th Anniversary of Harley-Davidson.
Cycle shows
Motorcycles
During a show, Blackwell rotates through several motorcycles, including:
Before Buell went out of business in 2009, Blackwell was sponsored by the Harley-Davidson subsidy and his stunt shows also included the Buell Blast and the Buell Lighting. Between 2010 and 2013, Blackwell discontinued using the Buell motorcycles. However, in 2014, Blackwell returned to using the Buells in his stunt shows.
Stunts
One of the highlights of the stunt show was Blackwell lifting the front wheel, doing a motorcycle wheelie, on his street-legal Harley-Davidson FLHTCU outfitted with the 120 cubic inch twin cam engine. Blackwell also performs burnouts, including going through all 5-speeds of his custom Harley-Davidson Super Glide. The burn-outs often end with the rear tire of the motorcycle blowing. Toward the end of the Buell sponsorship, Blackwell toured with Team Bubba, which included two other stunt riders other than himself performing stunts on the Buell motorcycles. However, with the liquidation of Buell Motorcycles, Blackwell exclusively performs stunts with the Harley-Davidson twin-cam engine motorcycles and jumps on the Harley-Davidson XR-750.
''Heirs to the Dare''
On March 10, 2014, Discovery Channel premiered the television show, Heirs to the Dare, featuring Blackwell. Heirs to the Dare also featured stunt performers Henry "Pitbull" Rife and Super Joe Reed. The Discovery Channel describes Blackwell as "best known for breaking Evel Knievel's jump records for both cars and buses. He's known as "king of the Harley" and he's had some really bad falls with 42 broken bones, to date. Bubba attempts jumps over objects that include helicopters with blades in full rotation as he earns big dollars for big jumps to support his family."
Retirement
After 21 years of performing professional stunt riding for Buell Motorcycles and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, Blackwell retired on August 15, 2015. Blackwell said of his planned retirement that he accomplishing all of his dreams and enjoyed fatherhood over stunt performing. He announced his jump the weekend of August 15, 2015 in Peoria, Illinois would be his farewell performance. Blackwell said he would follow his daredevil career with a lawn care business, but kept his motorcycles and jumpsuit and may one day return. Bubba came out of retirement on August 20, 2016 with a jump at Fox River Harley-Davidson in St. Charles, Illinois when he successfully cleared 15 Jeep Patriots after a 2-hour rain delay during the 2016 Illinois HOG Rally.
