Back in 1980, long before influencers and action reels, a Greek-American bus driver risked it all for a stunt no one had dared to try. This is the story of Jimmy Koufos—the man they called The Flying Greek.
What kind of person looks at a 5.5-ton school bus and thinks, Yeah, I’m gonna jump that over 20 motorcycles?
That would be Jimmy “The Flying Greek” Koufos—a Greek-American municipal bus driver from Granada Hills, California, who, in 1980, decided he wanted a little more excitement in his life. And what better way to make a name for yourself than by doing something no one had ever tried before?
It all went down at a NASCAR event—because of course it did. Koufos, fueled by equal parts adrenaline and ambition, hit the gas and launched a school bus off a ramp in front of a crowd of thousands. His goal? Clear 20 motorcycles lined up below like dominoes.
With some help from his father-in-law, a physicist (yes, you read that right), Koufos crunched the numbers and got the green light. He hit 75 miles per hour before takeoff and soared through the air. And he actually cleared the motorcycles.
The landing, though? Not quite a textbook finish. The bus came up a bit short and smashed into the ramp’s edge, sending up a cloud of dust and panic. But somehow, Jimmy emerged from the wreckage—shaken, winded, but walking.
“I feel like I’m going to black out,” he told the reporter seconds after the jump. “I just put everything I had into it. Put it to the floor and was hoping for the best.”
When asked what he was thinking right before takeoff, Jimmy’s answer was simple:
“Just go over, baby.”
It was his first attempt at anything like this. No warm-up stunts. No dry runs. Just one shot, one ramp, and the dream of landing alongside Evel Knievel and Bubba Blackwell. His biggest concern? The back of the bus was 1,000 pounds heavier than the front—he didn’t want to land rear-first and flip. He almost did.
“That space board had been banked any deeper,” the announcer said, “it could have been real trouble.”
But he pulled it off. Not a single motorcycle was damaged. The bus? Totaled. The ramp? Splinters. But Jimmy? Still standing.
Koufos didn’t just bring guts to the stunt—he brought pride. Growing up in a tight-knit Greek community, he carried with him the values we know well: grit, passion, and a touch of defiance. His nickname, The Flying Greek, wasn’t just catchy—it was a tribute to his heritage, worn with pride.
In a time when embracing your cultural identity was a statement in itself, Koufos leaned in. He wasn’t trying to blend in—he was flying above it all, literally.
After that jaw-dropping moment, Koufos more or less disappeared from the public eye. Maybe he went back to driving buses. Maybe he planned his next big leap. Nobody really knows. And maybe that’s part of the legend.
“Knievel, Blackwell, Gary Wells—look out,” Jimmy said at the end of his interview, “because here I come.”
Jimmy Koufos wasn’t Evel Knievel. He didn’t tour the country or have toy lines made in his image. But for one incredible moment, he captured the imagination of a nation—and reminded us what it means to go all in.
For Greek-Americans, Koufos represents something more than just a wild stunt. He’s a symbol of the courage to try, even when the odds are stacked as high as a pile of Harleys.
So here’s to Jimmy “The Flying Greek” Koufos—the guy who dared to take flight in a school bus and left us all looking up.