Demolition Derby - History

History

Demolition derbies were first held at various fairs and race tracks and speedways by independent promoters in the 1950s. There are unconfirmed reports of events occurring as far back as the 1930s utilizing the abundant supply of worn out Ford Model T's. The originator of the concept for demolition derbies is disputed. One source said that Don Basile is often credited with inventing the demolition derby at Carrell Speedway in 1947. Another source states stock car racer Larry Mendelsohn created the concept for demolition derbies at New York State's Islip Speedway in 1958 after realizing many people favored wrecks to racing.

The sport's popularity grew throughout the 1960s, becoming a standard of county fairs in rural areas, and becoming a quirky subculture nationwide. In 1965 a reported crowd of 20,000 packed into Rowley Park Speedway to see Australia's first demolition derby. ABC's Wide World of Sports televised the World Championship Demolition Derby from the mid 1960s until 1992. Also in 1972, the Los Angeles Coliseum hosted a demolition derby with mint-condition late model cars driven by Mario Andretti, A. J. Foyt, and Bobby Unser. The popular ABC sitcom Happy Days included the character Pinky Tuscadero, a professional demolition derby driver and occasional love-interest to the show's most popular character, Arthur Fonzarelli.

The sport's popularity peaked in the 1970s. By the 1980s, the sport's popularity began to level off, and then possibly decline throughout the 1990s. With the demise of Wide World of Sports, television exposure became virtually non-existent. In addition to safety concerns and the shortage of full-size vehicles, some felt that the sport has shown little change or innovation beyond its original premise of giant lumbering cars sloshing through mud.

In 1997, The Nashville Network (later part of CBS) returned demolition derby to national television in its "TNN's Motor Madness" series of various motor-sport events. The demolition derby was originally designed to serve as an amusement while attendees bought food and beverage from concessions. Motor Madness derbies were primarily for broadcast and needed to fit into a time frame. Live demolition derbies could last as long as possible. Motor Madness changed the rules from last car running to largest number of offensive hits in a time frame. However, as part of MTV Networks' takeover of CBS Cable operations in 2000, demolition derbies, as well as the rest of the CBS motor-sports operations, were removed from programming as part of MTV's move to shut down the CBS Charlotte operation based at Lowe's Motor Speedway and generalize the network into a more broadly viewed channel. Pay per view was demolition derby's only national television outlet in the 2000s (decade). Two $50,000-to-win derbies were held in Widewater, Canada from 2000-2001.

Later in the 2000s (decade), a proliferation of cable television shows about vehicle customizing occasionally showcased junked vehicles in bizarre competitions. Spike TV's "Carpocalypse" was a reality documentary series on variations of demolition derby filmed in Orlando, Florida. The Speed Channel also has aired Team demolition derbies in 2005. Cable TV's exposure has led to renewed interest in the demolition derby.

In 2006, the partners of Mike Weatherford Promotions (Mike Weatherford and Dustin Swayne) brought DerbyMadness.com to life while promoting the NAPA Auto Parts Crash for Cash Series. The First Annual final show paid out $5,000.00 to the winner of the series. Before competing in the final show, derby drivers across several states had to qualify at any one of the participating NAPA Crash for Cash qualifying derbys. There were over 100 cars in the final show. The Series was a huge success and continues to grow every year. The 2007 Series Money was doubled, so competition was expected to increase for the 2008 series.