This past fall I attended my first demolition derby. These derbies are fairly widespread across the country and this one was conveniently situated in Bonner’s Ferry, not far from where we live. It was a lot of fun!
The derby was held on a Saturday evening, starting at about dusk. The arena where the drivers would be chasing and smashing into each other was well watered to keep down the dust and to add flying mud to the scene — a nice dramatic touch!
Canada geese were heading south, always a sure sign of fall….
The sunset was unusually hazy and red-tinged because of a large forest fire in the Selkirk mountains about 6 miles away. Firefighters were camped on the Bonners County Fairgrounds where the demolition derby was being held, and I’m sure some of them got out of their tents to watch the action.
As dusk settled, the drivers and their vehicles were introduced and gathered for the playing of the National anthem. It was clear that many of these vehicles had seen prior action in a demolition derby, given their beaten up appearance. And that’s sort of the nature of the “sport”. You get an old car, customize it for the derby (e.g. weld doors shut, reinforce the frame), tune it up and head out for some action.
The participants were almost all local (within 20 miles of Bonners Ferry) and were enthusiastic about the event. It added to the fun.
(The drivers and their cars are introduced to the crowd)
Last weekend’s One Clue Mystery photo was taken at this time (see below photo). As usual, the site was recognized by incomparable travel detective George G — great work as always, George!
(One Clue Mystery Photo)
As I recall, there were five rounds of demolition — smaller cars, larger cars, smaller trucks, larger trucks, and a free-for-all. As you can see from the following photos, most of the cars got badly damaged, many so much so that they needed to be towed from the arena. Often cars lost the ability to steer, so that could just move back and forth or drive in a circle.
(Most of the vehicles had to be towed from the arena)
Demolition derby is an action sport so rather than my preach to you about it, I thought it best to share with you some videoclips showing what the event was like. Give them a look:
There are cash prizes to the winner of each of the events, but in my opinion it’s not enough money to motivate most people. They ride in the derby for fun and a chance to win, not so much for a cash reward.
After the derby, owners take the cars home and spend the coming weeks and months repairing them, welding them, improving and painting them. Many folks around here very mechanically gifted and handy. And most will be back the following year and have a go at it again.
I think I’ll be back and enjoy next year’s derby.
