PRINTDemolition derbies bring destruction and entertainment
The county fair staple might be in decline
July 22, 2010 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Rolling smoke, screeching tires and the sound of metal on metal fill the air. Yeah, it’s a wreck, but it’s not an accident. Demolition derbies have been around since the 1950s, and they allow people to build up a car only to crash it into other vehicles, wreck it beyond repair and then start all over again.
Where: Boone County Fairgrounds
When: Sun, July 25, 7 p.m.
Cost: $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under
Call: 573-474-9435
A demolition derby referee at the Marshall derby walks between mangled, muddy cars to declare ...
The rules of a derby are simple: Make contact with another car, or you’re out. Cars have to make a hit within the first minute, or they are disqualified. If a car can’t move anymore because it has been hit and destroyed, then it’s out. Basically, hit someone else, or hit the road.
Bill and Regina McDermith, promoters from Grand Stand Attractions in Illinois, are running the show at the Boone County Fair this year. Their entire relationship has been built around derby. The two met more than 20 years ago when Bill was refereeing a derby race in which Regina was competing.
“I was flagging, and she got out and cussed me out because she said I didn’t know how to read a stopwatch,” Bill says. “She’s been cussing me out ever since.”
Although the McDermiths have been involved in derby for longer than they’ve been together, Bill believes the end of derby is near. The age of the Internet and a new influx of money are threatening the sport.
Although the Internet is bringing people together, Bill says it allows derby participants to pick up tips from others in states where the rules are different.
“It’s kind of killing the sport,” Bill says. He is also worried because people can find ways to cheat the system and buy specialized parts. Demolition derby participant Jason Logsdon echoes this sentiment.
“There’s people out there putting a lot of money in their motors — thousands,” says Logsdon, who has been taking part in derby for four years. Stock motors cost $500, but some participants will put much more into them. “Guys out there have $5-6,000 in their motor.”
Another worry is that derby is moving away from its roots. Bill used to see demolition derbies as a “poor man’s sport” because anyone could find an old car, weld the doors shut and take part in a rally. “Money’s taken over, and now these guys are putting too much money in their cars,” Bill says. “The average Joe Blow guy can’t afford that.”
Bill has tried to move the sport back to stock racing without modified cars, but it’s not catching on fast. He says many racers use technology to make custom parts to fool judges and break the rules.
“I just think some of the county fairs will eventually drop (the demolition derbies),” Bill says. He doesn’t think the smaller fairs will be able to afford the rallies if people can’t even afford to participate in them.
