Demolition derby – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another.[1] The last driver whose vehicle is still operational is awarded the victory.[1]

Demolition derbies originated in the United States and quickly spread to other western nations. In Europe, this type of event is called banger racing, although in a demolition derby, racers do not race against each other, instead aiming specifically to destroy the other cars. The first Demolition derby in Australia took place in January 1963.

Demolition derbies can be very dangerous. Although serious injuries are rare, they do happen.[1] Drivers are typically required to sign a waiver to release the promoter of an event from liability.[1] To make the event safer, all glass is removed from the vehicle, and deliberately ramming the driver's-side door area is forbidden.[2] The driver's door is often required to be painted white with black numbers or blaze orange, or with contrasting colors, for visibility.[3][4] Most demolition derbies are held on dirt tracks,[1] or in open fields, that are usually soaked with water. This causes the competition area to become muddy, which in turn helps to further slow the vehicles. Some drivers use both the front and rear of the vehicle to ram the other competitors. Others tend to use only the rear end of the vehicle, to help protect the engine compartment from damage.[5]

Demolition derbies were first held at various fairs, race tracks, and speedways by independent promoters in the 1950s. There are unconfirmed reports of events occurring as far back as the 1930s utilizing the abundant supply of worn out Ford Model T's, but the practice perhaps goes back even earlier, In the 19th century, heavily promoted, deliberate head-on collisions were staged using obsolete locomotives. The originator of the concept for auto demolition derbies is disputed. One source said that Don Basile is often credited with inventing the demolition derby at Carrell Speedway in 1947.[5] Another source states stock car racer Larry Mendelsohn created the concept for demolition derbies at New York State's Islip Speedway in 1958 after realizing many people favored wrecks to racing.[1]

The sport's popularity grew throughout the 1960s, becoming a standard of county fairs in rural areas,[1] and becoming a quirky subculture nationwide. The popularity of demolition derbies was also spreading overseas. In 1963 a reported crowd of 20,000 packed into the Rowley Park Speedway in Adelaide to see Australia's first demolition derby. Due to the size of the crowd (about twice the venue capacity), the Police were forced to close the speedway's gates and the derby itself had over 75 entries and lasted for over 100 minutes.[6] Demolition derbies in Australia generally take place at speedways (usually on the opening or closing night of the season), with most cars being older model Australian made sedans or wagons.

ABC's Wide World of Sports televised the World Championship Demolition Derby from the mid-1960s until 1992.[1] Also in 1972, the Los Angeles Coliseum hosted a demolition derby with mint-condition late model cars driven by Mario Andretti, A. J. Foyt, and Bobby Unser.[1] The popular ABC sitcom Happy Days included the character Pinky Tuscadero, a female professional demolition derby driver (almost unheard of at the time with the show set in the 1950s) and occasional love-interest to the show's most popular character, Arthur Fonzarelli.[1]

The sport's popularity peaked in the 1970s.[1] By the 1980s, the sport's popularity began to level off,[1] and then possibly decline throughout the 1990s. With the demise of Wide World of Sports, television exposure became virtually non-existent. In addition to safety concerns and the shortage of full-size vehicles, some felt that the sport has shown little change or innovation beyond its original premise of giant lumbering cars sloshing through mud.

In 1997, The Nashville Network (later part of CBS) returned demolition derby to national television in its "TNN's Motor Madness" series of various motor-sport events.[1] The demolition derby was originally designed to serve as an amusement while attendees bought food and beverage from concessions. Motor Madness derbies were primarily for broadcast and needed to fit into a time frame. Live demolition derbies could last as long as possible. Motor Madness changed the rules from last car running to largest number of offensive hits in a time frame. However, as part of MTV Networks' takeover of CBS Cable operations in 2000, demolition derbies, as well as the rest of the CBS motor-sports operations, were removed from programming as part of MTV's move to shut down the CBS Charlotte operation based at Lowe's Motor Speedway and generalize the network into a more broadly viewed channel. Pay per view was demolition derby's only national television outlet in the 2000s (decade). Two $50,000-to-win derbies were held in Widewater, Canada from 2000-2001.

Later in the 2000s (decade), a proliferation of cable television shows about vehicle customizing occasionally showcased junked vehicles in bizarre competitions. Spike TV's "Carpocalypse"[7] was a reality documentary series on variations of demolition derby filmed in Orlando, Florida. The Speed Channel also has aired Team demolition derbies in 2005. Cable TV's exposure has led to renewed interest in the demolition derby.

In 2006, the partners of Mike Weatherford Promotions (Mike Weatherford and Dustin Swayne) brought DerbyMadness.com to life while promoting the NAPA Auto Parts Crash for Cash Series. The First Annual final show paid out $5,000.00 to the winner of the series. Before competing in the final show, derby drivers across several states had to qualify at any one of the participating NAPA Crash for Cash qualifying derbys. There were over 100 cars in the final show. The Series was a huge success and continues to grow every year. The 2007 Series Money was doubled, so competition was expected to increase for the 2008 series.

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Demolition derby - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia