His Career Takes Off : Jeff Weinke Makes a Living by Smashing a Motorcycle Into a Parked Car So He Can Fly . . . Honest

Talent agent Jeff Immediato was sitting in his office one afternoon when a guy named Jeff Weinke telephoned and offered his services.

Weinke was excited; he said he had a sensational stunt that couldn’t miss: He crashes a motorcycle at 50 m.p.h. into the front end of a parked car, flying 60 feet into the air and landing in a stack of cardboard boxes.

It’s a death-defying act that’s sure to be a halftime hit at race tracks across America, he said.

Immediato asked Weinke if he had pictures and videotape of the stunt. “No problem,” Weinke said. “I’ve been doing the stunt for years.”

So Immediato invited Weinke to the office to sign a contract.

But there was one small problem. Weinke had been living atop a billboard on Sunset Boulevard as one of 12 contestants hoping to win $5,000, a new car and a trip to Hawaii. He couldn’t take the time to come down and blow the contest.

When the contest ended (Weinke didn’t win), he and Immediato made a deal to put the show on the road.

The show was eventually booked for San Bernardino, which is Southern California’s answer to Peoria, Ill. If it can play Peoria, it can play anywhere, right?

But as the date of the show approached, more problems arose. It seemed that Weinke was flat broke. The stunt was less than three days away and Weinke didn’t even have a bike. So Immediato bought a used bike from a guy in Santa Monica, who said he’d deliver it to the race track in San Bernardino.

On stunt day, the bike arrived--in pieces. A Honda factory mechanic took one look at the bike and said: “No chance.”

Weinke arrived at the track a few moments later. He didn’t have a helmet, boots, shoulder pads or riding pants.

An hour before showtime, Immediato turned to track announcer Bruce Flanders for help. Flanders asked whether anyone in the crowd had a used motorcycle to sell. A friendly fan from Fontana was more than happy to help.

Immediato borrowed a helmet from a speedway rider and a pair of boots and gloves from the track maintenance man.

Weinke got ready for his big moment.

After a couple of passes around the Inland Motorcycle Speedway track, Weinke accelerated the Honda 350 to about 50 m.p.h. and slammed into a car parked on the back straightaway.

Weinke was launched high over the car and, for nearly two seconds, he flew across the track like a bullet. He landed into the stack of cardboard boxes and lay motionless for nearly a minute.

The crowd was silent. Was he hurt? No, it was all part of the act. Finally, Weinke stood and waved to the crowd. Some act, huh?

John LaDoucher, San Bernardino promoter, didn’t know what to expect when he booked Weinke nearly a year ago to perform at halftime during his Wednesday night speedway racing show.

“I thought the guy was a goofball when I was told what he wanted to do,” LaDoucher said. “When I got to the track that day and saw the way his bike was delivered in pieces, I was convinced the guy was a goofball.

“He seemed so unorganized. When he finally did the stunt, I was amazed. The crowd went completely silent when he hit the car. It was scary. Then, he jumped up from the boxes and the place went wild.

“When I think back, I saw the whole thing and still don’t believe it. I’m sure most of the people thought he had died.”

Weinke may not have been killed or even injured, but there was a greater chance for mishap on that stunt than most people knew at the time.

You see, there were no pictures or videotapes of Weinke doing his stunt. Weinke had lied. He hadn’t even performed the stunt when he convinced Immediato for his chance in San Bernardino.

“We booked the act in a matter of days after Jeff came down from the billboard,” Immediato said. “I had no reason to doubt him. He sounded like he knew what he was doing. That night, he did exactly what he said he could do.”

Weinke didn’t tell anyone that the San Bernardino show was his opening night until five months later.

“I wouldn’t have done it if I had any doubts,” he said. “I had thought about the whole thing for two years, but I never had the opportunity to try it until I met Jeff.”

Weinke has taken the show on the road all the way to Holland since San Bernardino. He has bookings in Britain, West Germany, Japan and Hawaii next year.

Tonight, he’s scheduled to perform at halftime when speedway racing continues at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Although there are variables to each stunt and no jump is ever the same, Weinke follows several unwritten rules.

He tries to launch himself about 20 feet before impact. That way, his toes are leaving the seat of the motorcycle just before impact. The roof of the car cannot be any higher than 2 feet, 4 inches, or about the same height of the motorcycle seat.

He said there are also three keys in successfully performing the stunt:

--Launching himself totally away from the impact area.

--Getting a straight approach line which usually means aiming for the license plate of the parked car.

--Placing the cardboard boxes where he lands at the exact distance from the car.

He has never failed to launch over the car, but he did miss the landing area in a mudbog show at Ascot Park, breaking his leg and collarbone.

The impact of a motorcycle traveling at 50 m.p.h. and crashing into a parked car is horrifying. A replay of Weinke’s stunt at San Bernardino revealed that the front wheels of the parked car were raised six inches.

All of which leads to one question: Why does a nice-looking 24-year-old from St. Paul, Minn. risk his life performing such a dangerous stunt?

“I’m dealing with a situation that is potentially fatal and controlling it,” he said.

Spoken like a true stunt man.