Smash And Crash

• Friday March 3, 2006 in: Import Car Lifestyle Tag(s):

  Demolition derbies are among the most manly of sports which originated in county fairs and festivals of redneck America and remains popular to this day alongside its more glamorous cousins like stock car and Formula One racing.

  Part of the appeal lies in the fact that competitors don't have to use flashy, souped up hot rods but ordinary used sedans, beefed up with tough steel reinforcements to better withstand the banging and thrashing dished out by competitors.

  One can liken the demolition derbies as the four-wheel version of a street rumble except that in this more dangerous free-for-all there are a few rules propped up to ensure the safety and survival of participants.

  For one competitors aren't allowed to smash into the engine compartments and two, they're also prohibited from crashing into the vehicle's doors to protect the drivers. Only the backside gets rammed into (not to suggest anything of course).

  Despite the rough and tumble nature of demolition derbies (a lot of people consider it suicide while demo derby aficionados insist it's a sport) serious and fatal injuries are quite rare.

  Personally though the appeal lies in simply crashing and smashing these mean looking machines to a twisted metal pulp. Yessur, it's about as macho and American as pro football and twice as satisfying.

  But even with the best car parts, it's the driver's skill and the vehicle's durability determines whose vehicle remains up and running after the end of the motor brawl.

  Demolition derbies are the culmination of every boy's tendency to smash things up the same way he crashes his toy cars into his mother's carefully cultivated garden.

  Except that in this case there's no mama around to scold you but only big, mean-looking, loud guys with equally big, loud machines ready to tear your ride apart.

  And hey, what better way to ventilate your frustration than by watching a demolition derby or joining in on one? Who knows you may even turn on a few chicks here and there