Dusty Russell

Robert Shuman Hanna (March 12, 1934 – December 22, 2020) was a record-breaking American stunt driver and motorsports promoter who performed under the stage name “Dusty Russell." He was the star of the 1973 action movie Steel Arena, on which he also served as associate producer.

The film a fictionalized account of his career as an auto daredevil who specialized in jumping a speeding car over other vehicles, including flipping a car in mid-air. The film also portrays Hanna as a demolition derby driver and moonshine runner.

In addition to motorsport promotion, Hanna had a career as an executive in the semi-conductor industry in Washington State.

In 2009 interview, talking about one of the stunt drivers he was promoting, Tyler Moore, Hanna said, “I haven’t come across anybody like him for years...he has the same passion for crashing cars that I’ve had all my life.”

His career as auto daredevil Dusty Russell stretched over 50+ years, and he appeared in his last show as a stunt driver in 2005. He continued to be an auto thrill show promoter as World Champion Auto Daredevils after his retirement as a stunt driver.

Interviewed in 2010 about the final auto thrill show he produced, Hanna said of the auto daredevils who made their names in the 1960s, “Most of those guys have come and gone.... The only one still standing is me.”

The movie, which was budgeted at $150,000, was shot in 21 days. Hanna was credited as associate producer under his real name, Robert Hanna. The movie was first released in the Atlanta metropolitan area in early April 1973.