Findlay Toyota celebrates new dealership by bringing human cannonball David “The Bullet” Smith to Southern Nevada for the first time
It’s a sight most of us will see only once in a lifetime — a human cannonball flying some 160 feet through the air, nearly 80 feet high.
To celebrate the opening of its new, state-of-the-art, 145,000 square-foot dealership, Findlay Toyota is bringing world record holder David Smith to perform his amazing human cannonball stunt as part of its grand opening celebration on July 12, 2008 at 11 a.m.
Findlay Toyota’s new location at 7733 Eastgate Road in Henderson, on the east side of U.S. 93 across from the Valley Automall, is situated on 12.5 acres and marks the beginning of the Valley Automall expansion to the east.
Everyone has been invited to enjoy the spectacle Saturday at 11 a.m. People are encouraged to arrive by 10 a.m. to have the best views of the flight, which is expected to go from one end of the dealership to the other.
Known simply as “The Bullet,” David Smith holds the Guinness World Records title from 1996 for soaring 181 feet through the air as a human cannonball. Smith and his family travel the world — including the U.S., Canada, Australia, England, the Middle East, Holland, and most recently, South Africa — delighting audiences with amazing daredevil human cannonball stunts.
Smith has worked professionally as a human cannonball for more than 11 years and logged more than 5,000 human cannonball shots — now there’s a profession for you!
“The Bullet” has even successfully been shot over the Grand Canyon. His wife and business manager, Audrey, said, “We could be in touch with Guinness World Records every month, but that’s not realistic. If there’s a human cannonball record, in actuality, I’d bet David holds it.”
Smith and his wife, and the couple’s four young children, travel the world performing human cannonball stunts. They have a commercial rig — a double tractor and custom 53-foot Renegade trailer — that houses the 35-foot cannon and converts into the family’s two-and-a-half story home, complete with kitchen, family room, office, king-sized bed, sleeping and play areas for the children.
As of today, the Smith family is calling Findlay Toyota home in preparation for Saturday’s human cannonball stunt.
About the new Findlay Toyota facility, General Manager Rich Abajian says, “This store has incredible potential. It has nearly 100 service bays compared to just 30 in our old facility. We expect other auto dealers will soon follow us to the east side of the freeway, further expanding the Valley Automall.”
The success of Toyota to this point, coupled with the Las Vegas Valley’s growth and Findlay’s new state-of-the-art dealership, has led Abajian to predict cars sales of 1,500 a month in the not-too-distant future. When the original Findlay Toyota opened in 1998, Toyota officials predicted only 200 sales a month.
John Barr and the entire Findlay Toyota team will be on hand Saturday. If you hang around long enough, rumor is you may even be part of a commercial featuring John Barr as a human cannonball. Good luck!
