Rocket Cars & Broken Bones - The Story of "The Mad Canadian" Ken Carter

In the 1970s daredevil golden age, Evel Knievel was the undisputed king. But north of the border, a Montreal high-school dropout named Ken Carter was determined to steal the crown. Known as "The Mad Canadian," Carter didn't want to jump motorcycles—he wanted to fly cars.

In this episode, we dive into the chaotic, tragicomic life of Ken Carter. We explore his gritty background climbing the ranks of traveling stunt shows, his absolute obsession with outdoing Knievel, and his epically insane idea: strapping 11,000 pounds of rocket thrust to a winged Lincoln Continental to jump a one-mile gap across the St. Lawrence River from Canada to the United States.

Famously slated for a 1976 live broadcast on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, the "Superjump" became a sprawling saga of engineering hubris, dangerous miscalculations, and withdrawn funding. We break down the years of delays, the bizarre construction of an 85-foot-tall earthen launch ramp, and the unbelievable climax in 1979—when the rocket car finally went airborne, but with a shocking, secret twist about who was actually strapped into the driver's seat. Tune in for a story of obsession, spectacular failure, and the very fine line between bravery and madness.