Opinion

PENALTY SHOTS: The steel gladiators of the Midway

Posted April 27, 2017 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Editor@heraldtrib.com

For the first time in my professional writing career, I covered a demolition derby last Friday at the Sparta Fairgrounds.

It had been years since I had watched one, so long ago that I cannot give you a ballpark estimate as to when.

So I went.

Demolition derby occupies a unique spot in American motorsports culture. Depending on what you read and whom you believe, it may have started as far back as the 1930s, when the abundance of the Ford Model T created the potential for a different kind of spectacle at county fairs and festivals.

The premise for the main feature event, traditionally preceded by a couple of racing heats called Auto Cross, is to be the last car running.

Sparta's derby featured 17 participants in the feature. Given how I had not attended one for a long time, I can't tell you how that compares to last year or even five years ago.

But there are plenty of articles out there that warn of the derby's nationwide decline. A generational lack of quality junkers, disinterest among the younger generation and cost have all contributed to a waning of a phenomenon that still draws good crowds, but fewer and fewer drivers.

According to a multitude of media coverage on the subject, the treasured relics of derby lore are the early-to-mid 1970s full-size sedans, the hulking wheeled boats of steel that could take a pounding in the arena.

But those vehicles, now more than 40-plus years old, are no longer showing up in the junkyards of America. Programs like Cash for Clunkers - which took 690,000 polluting cars off the road - have cut off a viable supply of older-model cars for derby drivers.

The cars of today, made with plastic and aluminum, are not durable enough to survive long in the arena. Event payouts are also typically only in the hundreds of dollars, while even winning the feature will net you just $1,000 on most nights.

In reading different articles, two things become clear as to why people do it - the fun and the people. It's a thrill in every definition of the word and you meet some cool people along the way.

But is demolition derby a hobby, a sport or both? It's an intriguing question to answer.

As I tend to do in these circumstances, I put the query out on the social media landscape for responses and the replies drew a varied amount of answers.

Some said hobby, others said sport. Several people said both.

I tend to lean toward both. Even though the main purpose is to entertain, there is some skill involved with this in you have to be able protect your car's engine compartment from damage from the multitude of hits you'll take in battle.

But it's also a hobby in the sense you're never going to make a lot of money doing it either.

I walked away from the track on Friday with more curiosity than anything. Wanting to know more about these steel gladiators of the Midway and what inspires them to battle in the arena.

Hopefully, one day I'll get a chance to find out.

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