SMASH‘EM CRASH ‘EM
THE HISTORY
Demolition Derby entered the American lexicon when it was added to the MerriamWebster’s Collegiate Dictionary in 1953: A contest in which skilled drivers ram old cars into one another until only one car remains running.
As the art critic Peter Schjeldahl observed: No cars in the normal world can take hits at much more than five miles per hour without causing telephones to ring in insurance offices. Everything more violent enters obscure territory. In the derby, things happen to cars that a crash-test dummy never dreamed of.
Over the past nine decades, Demolition Derby has continued to appeal to audiences by challenging participants to defy common sense, disregard caution, and challenge the laws of physics. It intentionally celebrates the destruction of America’s 20th-century symbol of mobility and status—the automobile. The origins of the Demolition Derby can be traced back to the 1920s when racetrack owners recognized that the unplanned
crashes were the most memorable part of the day’s events. They began to organize events around drivers who intentionally crashed old Ford Model T’s. This early type of entertainment appeared on schedule at county fairs and speedways.
Coincidently, in the early 1920s, the auto industry introduced planned obsolescence by introducing new car styles every year. This change shifted the focus from function to form for car manufacturers and the public. Ultimately, there was a growing symbolic desire to destroy the prior year’s model cars, resulting in an increase in the popularity of demolition derbies, especially in rural America. This trend continued to grow steadily throughout the 1960s, establishing a strong subculture of Derby events in county and state fairs.
By 1963, Australia hosted its first Demolition Derby in Adelaide, attracting a reported crowd of 20,000 people. Today, Canada, Australia, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands have their own active demolition derby cultures, known as Banger Racing.
With demolition derby’s popularity on the rise, ABC’s Wide World of Sports covered it as a sport, televising the World Championship Demolition Derby from the mid-1960s until 1992.
The sport peaked in popularity in the last quarter of the 20th century, after entering mainstream American consciousness in the 1970s when demolition derby became associated with Happy Days, one of the mostwatched television sitcoms of the 70’s area.
By the 1980s, the derby’s popularity began to decline when it lost television exposure after the demise of the Wide World of Sports.
In 1997, The Nashville Network brought back Demolition Derby to national television audiences with its Motor Madness series.
This brief renaissance ended in 2000 with the consolidation of MTV Networks’ takeover of CBS Cable operations, eliminating it from its programming. The only national television outlet for demolition derbies in the 2000’s decade was Pay-Per-View.
During the 2000s, there were a couple of cultural shifts that reignited people’s interest in demolition derby. This was in part due to the popularity of cable television shows about customizing vehicles, which often included competitions involving old vehicles. In 2005, the Speed Channel aired team Demolition Derbies.
Additionally, Demolition Derby video games became popular, with two of the most popular ones being Wreckfest Wiki, which has had over 31,000,000 downloads, and Demolition Derby 3, with over 10,000,000.
In 2006, Mike Weatherford and Dustin Swayne launched DerbyMadness.com to promote the NAPA Auto Parts Crash for Cash Series. The first annual show awarded $5,000 to the winner, and over 100 cars took part.
In 2024, the Demolition Entertainment Motorsports Organization (D.E.M.O.) was established by professional Demolition Derby drivers, promoters, and parts vendors with the stated goal of “elevating demolition derby from its grassroots origins to the pinnacle of professional motorsports.”
The Los Angeles Times estimates that one million fans attend Demolition Derbies annually. According to the Demolition Derby Drivers Association, there are between 3,000 to 5,000 Demolition Derbies per year in the US, with 150,000 to 225,000 drivers participating annually.
A turning point in Demolition Derby is approaching, as there will soon be fewer older cars available that are not primarily constructed with fiberglass and aluminum. The newer electric cars are unable to withstand the continuous impact that the older gas-driven cars have demonstrated in the past. It will be interesting to see what solution will be found for this dilemma.
STRATEGY FOR DRIVERS
You constantly want to avoid taking any big hits.
If you see a hit coming that you just can’t avoid, it’s best to take it broadside on the passenger’s side, if possible, for the following reasons:
You don’t want to be hit in the front where it could kill your engine.
You don’t want to be hit in the rear because you must save your rear f or your hitting.
You don’t want your wheels to be hit since it could blo w a tire or bust an axle.
Drive around the ring in a counterclockwise direction whenever possible. This way, your driver’s door is facing the inside of the ring, and other drivers are not allowed to hit you in the driver’s door.
Stay away from the corners of the ring where people can get a good run at you since this reduces the likelihood of getting stuck against the blocks.
When making hits, tr y to use your rear as often as possible to protect the drivetrain in the front.
If you get stuck, often another car will hit you, which can help you free yourself if you haven’t already dug yourself in.
Always try to keep moving. If you get hit unexpectedly, this will help dissipate the energy of the impact because a spinning tire will allow the car to slide with the hit much more easily than a non-moving tire. The additional benefit is that keeping the running reduces the chance of stalling your engine.
Good Luck!
These rules are intended as a guide for the conduct of the sport and in no way are a guarantee against injury or death of a participant, spectator, official or others.
RULE#1
All entrants must be 18 years of age. Minors who are 15-17 years old are permitted to participate but must have a parent or guardian’s signature on a minor release form.
RULE #2
All airbags must be completely removed.
Drain air conditioners and associated rubber hoses must be cut or removed prior to arrival at the track.
All trailer/towing hitches must be removed.
#3RULE
Batteries must be moved to passenger floorboard close to transmission and must be properly secured and covered.
RULE #4
BOTH doors and roof MUST be painted with car’s number in eighteen-inc h
readable digits. No obscenities will be tolerated on cars AT ALL.
BOTH doors and roof MUST be painted with car’s number in eighteen-inch readable digits. No obscenities will be tolerated on cars AT ALL.
NO HITTING on driver’s door. No deliberate head-on collisions. Any open door will cause disqualification.
RULE#5
You will be allowed two fires per heat.
RULE#6
RULE#7
Any driver losing consciousness during the event will be removed from heat and not allowed to return.
RULE#8
If you get out of the car you are disqualified.
RULE#9
All cars must complete an aggressive hit in a 90 seconds time limit on another car. Definition of a hit is when a car hits another car and causes the other car to move or be damaged.
REMEMBER: if it doesn’t say YES YOU CAN... ...YOU CAN’T
MORE RULES
• All drivers must have a valid driver’s license (except Youth Class).
• Driver must wear long pants and long sleeve tee-shirt. THIS WILL BE ENFORCED.
• NO SMOKING in car or on the track.
• You must have a working seat belt.
• No Imperials or hearses.
• NO DRINKING of alcoholic beverages by anyone in the pit areas. The misconduct of a driver or crew member can disqualify the driver from event participation.*before, during, or after event*
• All vehicles drive up for inspection and may be scoped. You will be allowed to make corrections if you do not pass. If vehicle cannot pass, you will not run. No refunds.
• ALL wheel drives and 4-wheel drives must be converted to 2-wheel drives.
• NO antifreeze is permitted. The cooling system must be drained and flushed and may be refilled with water only.
• All airbags must be completely removed. Drain air conditioners and associated rubber hoses must be cut or removed prior to arrival at the track. All trailer/towing hitches.
• NO bead locks, NO steel tires, NO full metal outer guards on rims. NO split rims.
• All wheel weights must be removed, including on inside of wheels.
• No gas tank protectors. Fuel tank must be deemed safe by the inspectors. Approved securing methods:
F uel tank may be moved inside of the car, forward of the rear wheels and behind the front seat in the center of the car.
F uel tank must be marine type plastic, metal or after market, six (6) gallon maximum.
• One batter y only. Battery may be moved to passenger side front floor and must be covered with a rubber mat. It must be secured with bolts or ratchet strap around the floor sheet metal and battery, not the frame, no sheet metal screws or self-taping screws for the attachments. For your safety, the battery must be secure.
• Engines, transmissions and rear ends must be the same make as the car, unless otherwise noted.
• All transmission lines must be disconnected from the radiator to prevent oil spills. A transmission cooler may be installed under the hood or the lines must be looped. There must be (2) 6” X 6” openings in the hood. One on either side for fire departments access. Hood holes may be cut out, no folding, rolling or reinforcing around hood openings.
• Exhaust may be exited through the hood.
• The rear of the car may be bent up a maximum of 2 inches. There is no hammering, kinking or folding any part of the car such as quarter panels or roof posts. It will be the official’s decision if you have overdone it and you will be made to bend it back to original.
• R oll bars are not permitted.
• A working hydraulic brake system is required. You must exhibit the ability to stop. Anyone losing their brakes during the event will be disqualified.
• The Derby will be stopped for bumpers or axles in the arena to be removed for the safety of the drivers and spectators.
• If vehicle rolls over, you will be allowed to continue if there are no safety issues.
• R ed Flag means stop, there may be a fire, someone may be injured. Pay attention.
• A ggressive contact with another vehicle must be made within one minute. If stalled, you will have one minute to get started and make aggressive contact with another live vehicle. You will be warned once; then you will be disqualified.
• NO SANDBAGGING or face disqualification.
• Don’t use your driver’s door as a shield, it may cause you to be disqualified.
• Stay in vehicle until heat is over (unless directed otherwise by derby official). Helmets and safety belts are to stay on. No smoking in vehicles.
• The last car to make a hit will be deemed the winner. Officials’ decision is final.
• The winner of each heat will be qualified to participate in the Grand Finale.
GLOSSARY
Bead Locks: A mechanical device that secures the bead of a tire to the wheel of a vehicle. They lock the tire’s bead (the part that’s designed to be on the rim of the wheel) to the wheel. This allows the driver to drop air pressure to a very low level, which increases the size of the tires contact with the road, which in turn increases traction.
Quar ter Panel: The body panel (exterior surface) of an automobile between a rear door (or only door on each side for two-door models) and the tr unk and typically wraps around the wheel well.
They are also common locations for impact damage in minor accidents or fender benders.
Rim Guards: The extra section of rubber added to the outside of a tire sidewall or bead area to prevent damage to the tire and wheel.
R oof Posts: The components that support the structure of an enclosed automobile body. The vertical roof support structure is located between the front and rear doors of a typical vehicle.
R oll Bar: The part of many automobile suspensions that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering.
Sandbagging: When a driver hits other cars weakly or avoids contact with other cars with the intention of lessening the damage to their car to ensuring better odds of surviving to win the derby as the last car moving. Most derbies often require a car to hit another car within a certain time limit, usually every 120 seconds or less, or be disqualified.
Split Rims: Spilt rims are multi-piece wheels, where the tire is held in place by a locking ring. Split rims are not normally used on cars or light vehicles. Often referred to as “widow makers” or “suicide rims.”
Failure of multipiece split rims can result in an explosive release of high pressure air and the ejection of component parts which can result in serious injuries including fatalities.
Steel Tires: Pneumatic tires (rubber tires filled with air under pressure and mounted around the wheel of a vehicle) with steel cords between the two beads of the tire that are arranged at 90° to the center line of the tread. They are made entirely of steel wires and cords, with no other materials used in their construction. These tires are extremely strong and resistant to punctures and other forms of damage.
Wheel Weights: Wheel weights are used to balance a wheel and tire assembly to make the car more stable and more difficult to turn over.
Cars that are heavier become more difficult to get up to speed, and they’re more difficult to slow down when needed.
T ire debris: Any vehicle throwing shredded tire debris toward grandstands will be stopped and disqualified.
Heat winners: Heat winners MUST RUN THE SAME CAR in Championship heat.
“No cars in the normal world can take hits at much more than five miles per hour without causing telephones to ring in insurance offices. Everything more violent enters obscure territory. In the derby, things happen to cars that a crash-test dummy never dreamed of.”
Art critic Peter Schjeldahl
