Ray Kohn vs. Bo Duke

[RogerDuke]

Competition is one thing that has made this country great. In fact, it makes us all better when we have a little friendly competition in our lives. Some folks take their competition seriousely and some folks just like to compete for fun.

There was a Waylon quote on the episode "Mrs. Daisy Hogg" that went like this: "If any of y'all ever drive through Hazzard, well ya might remember that if it's got wheels, folks tend to want to race it."

That's Hazzard folks for you...competitive to their core.

You don't need any more proof than to just look at how Bo and Luke interacted with each other. I bet that before Luke went in the Marines, little Bo couldn't beat him at anything but when Luke came home, the friendly competition heated up quick because Bo wasn't so little any more.

Speaking of competition, guess who's going to make an attempt to jump 33 cars in a General Lee? Yep, it's Ray Kohn of www.northeastohiodukes.com. Now, I really don't know if he's doing it to compete with Bo's 32 car jump or not. (It does make an interesting post to consider that as a possibility though). Maybe he's doing it for the same reason folks climb mountains...because they're there.

Whatever the reason, he IS doing it and the event will take place on Friday night September 24th north of Youngstown Ohio at Yankee Lake. Here's the amazing thing, this jump will take place 30 YEARS AND ONE DAY after Bo's Carnival of Thrills 32 car jump was originally aired. Ray likes to do things with drama. The timing couldn't be better.

[HossC]

Just make sure he checks his gas lines before the jump .

[RogerDuke]

The General Lee is the most famous car in the world for many reasons. One of those reasons is the spectacular stunts performed by the skilled stunt men who drove the orange 1969 Charger in the seven years the show was filmed (1979-1985).

Of the various stunts performed on the Dukes of Hazzard, none was as exciting as the trademark jumps. Some of those jumps are legendary like Bo Duke's Leap for Life.

"Carnival of Thrills" was the two part episode that began season three. In those two episodes, Bo Duke fell in love with the stunt show's owner, Diane Benson, In fact, he was so in love, he agreed to do a 32 car jump to help her out. With a little help from the good folks of Hazzard and a little co-piloting by his cousin Luke, he succeeded and saved the day. That milesone jump was one that defined the legend of the General Lee.

The Leap for Life from "Carnival of Thrills" part II originally aired on September 23, 1980. 30 years (and one day) later, Ray Kohn will perform the ultimate tribute to that spectacular jump by replicating it.....and throwing one more car into the mix just for fun.

This event won't take place in northern Georgia or southern California. It will occur at Yankee Lake Ohio on Friday night, September 24, 2010. Yep, Friday night, just like the original jump on CBS.

Yankee Lake is located north of Youngstown, which isn't far from Pittsburgh Pa or Cleveland Ohio. It's website is www.trucknight.com.

Hopefully we'll see you there. Ray's last General Lee event at Yankee Lake had 13,000 spectators with at least 1,000 of them wearing Dukes of Hazzard shirts and/or hats. There may not be a DukesFest any more but Ray's events are the closest things to them.

[DaisyMaeDuke]

And best of all it's on my birthday

[RogerDuke]

If you show up I bet we can get the crowd to sing happy birthday.

You're turning 27, right?

[RogerDuke]

One week until the big event!!!

[DaneyDuke]

The General Lee is the most famous car in the world for many reasons. One of those reasons is the spectacular stunts performed by the skilled stunt men who drove the orange 1969 Charger in the seven years the show was filmed (1979-1985).

Of the various stunts performed on the Dukes of Hazzard, none was as exciting as the trademark jumps. Some of those jumps are legendary like Bo Duke's Leap for Life.

"Carnival of Thrills" was the two part episode that began season three. In those two episodes, Bo Duke fell in love with the stunt show's owner, Diane Benson, In fact, he was so in love, he agreed to do a 32 car jump to help her out. With a little help from the good folks of Hazzard and a little co-piloting by his cousin Luke, he succeeded and saved the day. That milesone jump was one that defined the legend of the General Lee.

The Leap for Life from "Carnival of Thrills" part II originally aired on September 23, 1980. 30 years (and one day) later, Ray Kohn will perform the ultimate tribute to that spectacular jump by replicating it.....and throwing one more car into the mix just for fun.

This event won't take place in northern Georgia or southern California. It will occur at Yankee Lake Ohio on Friday night, September 24, 2010. Yep, Friday night, just like the original jump on CBS.

Yankee Lake is located north of Youngstown, which isn't far from Pittsburgh Pa or Cleveland Ohio. It's website is www.trucknight.com.

Hopefully we'll see you there. Ray's last General Lee event at Yankee Lake had 13,000 spectators with at least 1,000 of them wearing Dukes of Hazzard shirts and/or hats. There may not be a DukesFest any more but Ray's events are the closest things to them.

http://epguides.com/DukesofHazzard/ -

37. 3- 1 166433A 16 Sep 80 Carnival of Thrills (1)

38. 3- 2 166433B 16 Sep 80 Carnival of Thrills (2)

---

Roger, there is confusing information as to when this aired?

Can you please provide a link to your correct information, thank you

[RogerDuke]

Hi Daney.

I know there have been some errors on epguide. Is there any other source to confirm the air date for part two?

September 23 was 7 days after part 1. At the end of the first part (Sept 16) when Bo and Luke are getting ready to fight, Waylon mentions that we're going to have to wait a long time to see how it ends. When you watch part 2, it starts out, showing scenes from the last episode. If the two episodes were aired in a style like a two hour movie, it wouldn't have stopped in the middle of the movie to show the scenes from the last hour.

[DaneyDuke]

Hi Daney.

I know there have been some errors on epguide. Is there any other source to confirm the air date for part two?

September 23 was 7 days after part 1. At the end of the first part (Sept 16) when Bo and Luke are getting ready to fight, Waylon mentions that we're going to have to wait a long time to see how it ends. When you watch part 2, it starts out, showing scenes from the last episode. If the two episodes were aired in a style like a two hour movie, it wouldn't have stopped in the middle of the movie to show the scenes from the last hour.

Thought it might be an error since IMDB also has incorrect info on this air date. Here is the possible original tv guide ad - http://www.angelfire.com/80s/dukesofhazzard/037tvgad.jpg ?

[DaneyDuke]

Hey Roger, maybe getting Mufn, MaryAnne or Brian to add the event date ~this Friday~ to thread title will help get a few more folks there?

[RogerDuke]

24 hours until Ray's big jump.

I'll post a short review when I get home and a longer one later.

I'm starting to get a little nervous. Can ya tell by my voice?

[RogerDuke]

Ignore the last post where I said I'll post a short review first. I'll get right to the long one.

I arrived at Yankee Lake at 7:00. The sky was cloudy and it occasionally sprinkled but nothing serious. It eventually cleared up and the weather ended up not being a problem at all.

It was awesome to see Ray and everybody from his family and crew. This was my third experience this year hanging out with them and I hope there'll be a lot more next year. I've really gotten pretty attatched to some of the folks there. It's so cool being around other Dukes fans.....it's a lot like the HazzardNet except you get to see real faces. Like the HazzardNet, they're a big happy family.

I looked over at the jump sight and noticed school buses parked where I expected to see cars. There were two on the other end of the ramp (and they added a third later). Come to find out, there were some unexpected problems getting together enough cars for the jump and Ray had to go with plan B. Maybe I shouldn't say "unexpected problems" because in Hazzard County, unexpected problems are expected.

Since I'm officially on the crew now (even though I'm just a little lost rookie) I now have access to do awesome things like climb up on the top of ramps. After greeting Ray and folks on his crew I made that climb and looked over the buses while standing on top. My jaw dropped at the view. I wish every one of the 14,000 people there could have seen what I saw from that perspective and then imagined jumping over it. I tried to imagine what it would be like but just the thought made me nervous. It's funny how thinking about it doesn't make someone nervous when they're NOT standing on the ramp.

Yankee Lake Truck Night is awesome. There's so much to do. Google their website to check it out. After some of those activities, including trucks on steroids pulling a few tons, Ray was ready for his jump.

I watched him put his suit on and get strapped in. He seemed as cool as a cucumber and laughed and joked with people as he was getting ready. If he was nervous, you sure couldn't tell.

I walked down the hill and took my position guarding the jump area so people wouldn't get too close. The General Lee show car and Fury patrol car flew by a few times with Rosco in hot pursuit. They delighted the fans with their chase while the exited crowd of 14,000 waited for the big stunt.

Then, it happened....after a trial run, Ray came speeding down the hill and hit the ramp, flying into the night sky above the three school buses, clearing them with ease and landing with a thud, crunching the front end. I was thrilled to see such a spectacular stunt so close up but since I've gotten to know Ray a lot better and consider him to be my friend, my strongest emotion was relief. I was happy that the landing went relatively well and he was probably fine.

Come to find out, Ray did get a little scuffed up but nothing serious. It didn't take him too long to recover and start greeting his fans and sign autographs. Thirty years (and one day) after Bo Duke's famous Leap For Life on the episode Carnival of Thrills part II, Ray made a great jump of his own and it was an incredible tribute to the show and the stunt men and crew members who made that historic jump possible.

The Northeast Ohio Dukes don't have any more crazy stunts planned this year but you can bet the money in Boss's bank that Ray and his crew will be back for more in 2011. If there's no DukesFest next year, the Dukes of Hazzard Stunt show will be biggest Dukes show on the planet so hopefully some of you can make to trip to hang out with a bunch of folks who understand why you love the Dukes so much.

In conclusion, congratulations Ray on a spectacular jump! You're a lot braver than me. But that's why guys like you have all the fun and guys like me just write about it. See ya next year!

Edited September 25, 2010 by RogerDuke

[HossC]

Sounds like you had a good time, Roger. I don't suppose you got any pictures?.

[RogerDuke]

No I didn't Hoss. Even if I did I wouldn't know how to post them. I can get on HazzardNet and check my e-mail but that's about the only things I know how to do on this contraption....of course I don't really care about anything else. I did buy an 8x10 from a professional photographer who runs around taking pics and selling them: www.hinelyphoto.com. It was a shot of the stunt crew all together (minus at least one of the guys who was in the outhouse).

Yankee Lake's website www.trucknight.com might have pictures. Ray's website www.northeastohiodukes.com will probably have something later. I'm not sure when or if they'll post a video. I don't know much about YouTube but a lot of folks were taking videos. I wonder if it would be there. If you find something post it.

[Garrett Duke]

By your post Roger, looks like you had a great time and is excited about! Glad to hear it!

It'd take a lot to get an action picture of a jump like that! At the Dukefests I've been to, my mom tried taking pictures of the jumps and did get a few great pictures, but it takes perfect timing.