Best Demolition Derby Day Ever! I’m not sure if there is someone new in charge of the grandstand entertainment this year, but it seems like everything has gone up a notch. Today’s crash ‘em bang ‘em Demolition Derby was an excellent example. Usually the afternoon show is fun but clearly a warm-up for the extraordinarily popular evening show. The drivers typically hold back a bit in the matinee because the real money is at night so they want to make sure their car will still be operable by 7:30pm. Today, though, the brightly sunlit arena was filled with insane drivers who apparently had lots of confidence in their pit crews. Several bumpers were lost along the way, one engine caught on fire, one station wagon rolled over and got lodged against a log, and one car broke a rear axle resulting in a tire-on-a-stick flying through the air and landing in the middle of all the chaos. Fortunately, nobody got hurt in any of this grand excitement, other than the station wagon driver being noticeably annoyed that he wasn’t allowed to simply flip over the wagon and keep on going. When it was all over, there were more random car parts littering the arena than I’ve ever seen before. Fantastic!
Also new for the afternoon show: our viewing location. We typically sit about half-way up the grandstands (higher perspective, back-friendlier, habit) but today we ran into some friends who were just six rows up from the arena floor. We joined them and it wasn’t long before I was lightly coated with a film of dirt from all the spinning and crashing and traction efforts. While I sort of liked feeling a certain oneness with the event, the gritty taste in my mouth was disappointing, mostly because it slowly replaced the delectable buttered corn taste I had planned would last me until my next feeding.
Curious if anyone would stop us, Rob and I got our hands stamped and wandered out into the parking lot several hours after the afternoon derby to check out what all the pit crews were doing in preparation for the evening show. Much to our delight, the crews were completely unaffected by our presence and my camera. They were too busy with sledgehammers and crowbars and welding masks and blow torches. It was fascinating to peek inside the cars. The interiors were stripped down to metal skeletons with a driver’s seat and a headrest welded to a metal rod. The doors were also welded shut and we noticed several cars had welded rebar on their hubcaps to cover the air inflation nozzle. If a tire was gonna blow, it was gonna BLOW! We also had a chance to chat with a husband and wife who have been regular participants in past years. (We recognized their last name on their matching shirts, thus confirming we are verging on becoming Demo Derby Stalkers.) The husband was hobbling around on crutches, awaiting MRI results on a bum knee. It was clearly killing him not being able to participate this year. Before we left, the wife was showing us photos of her Smurf car on her cell phone. Maybe after next year’s Derby we’ll be Facebook friends.
The evening Derby did not disappoint, although there were a lot less flying car parts than in the afternoon show. One car hit a retaining log so hard, the huge log rolled off of its berm and steamrolled the referee’s flag pile and beverage stash. I was stunned that the ref didn’t call a time out. Instead, the cars kept banging into each other while a bulldozer casually rumbled over and nudged the log back into position. I guess it takes a lot more than the ref’s personal safety for him to risk pausing the action.
The very best part of the evening show, though, was a brand new heat called “Foreign Mini’s.” Just this morning, Rob and I had been laughing about how fun it would be if there were a demolition derby of Prius’s and SmartCars. You know, tiny little things without much oomph that would likely crinkle upon impact. And guess what?? Introducing Foreign Mini’s! There were only four cars entered. There was a Subaru, an Escort, a Celica, and some other 20+ year old foreign-made econo-car with enviable gas mileage. What a blast to watch them zip around the arena and slam into each other! It didn’t take much to make a trunk disappear or a hood fly off, but wow…it took some snazzy driving to catch up with one of these little tin cans. They spun and buzzed and slid all over the dirt, at times almost seeming to be on ice. It didn’t last long but it sure was exciting! The good news is, apparently this type of heat is becoming more popular in demo derbies. The bad news is that it is for the very practical reason that traditional demolition derby stock (e.g. 1970’s era tanks such as Novas and Caprices and Impalas) is becoming harder and harder to find. The thought of demolition derby possibly being a dying sport makes me want to blow a gasket.
Food Parade! Speaking of blowing a gasket, I sort of feel like I ate a lot today. I had planned on a post-derby dessert but I decided I really wanted to enjoy it and not push myself past my Happy Place. And I’m glad I held off because I am now feeling a bit nauseous. No, not because I ate too much. I tried to read some mail in the car on the way home and I really know better than to read in a moving car. I have a very sensitive stomach, you know.
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| An early lunch of half beef brisket, half pulled pork. The meat was very good but the BBQ sauce could have been tangy-er. |
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| A vanilla coke. I was actually craving a cola slushy but they didn't have any brown flavors. |
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| A little soft serve chocolate-vanilla swirl for a snack. I forgot to order it in a bowl and ended up wearing some of the melted ice cream on my calf (the leg, not the farm animal). |
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| Demo Derby Corn! |
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| Lisa brought Hot Tamales candy from home and shared some with me! They are my very favorite candy! Thank you, Lisa!! |
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| A grape/cinnamon Hawaiian Ice. I hadn't tried cinnamon before. Very tasty! Imagine an icy Red Hot candy. Mmmm. |
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| A mint fudge gift. Just the right amount of mintiness and fudginess. Thank you, Kaitlyn! |
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| A corn dog appetizer. Yep, the Lion's Booth definitely has the best corn dogs. |
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| Pad Thai noodles with rooster sauce. My traditional Demo Derby dinner because: 1) the booth is near the grandstands 2) it's not a finger food so it's less messy 3) it is SO GOOD!! |
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