On The Sly

If you have never been to a demo derby you should know that all the action takes places in a small portion of the race track and cars go every which way including loose to crash into any other car on the track. I was ready, but I had no idea what I would experience. My first demolition derby began when Butch, the derby promoter, organizer and chief official, waved the green flag. The engines roared, the dirt started flying, metal was crashing into metal, and the hairs on my arms stood up on end. I couldn't believe the sights and sounds of a demolition derby. Trying to outshout the dozen cars and cheering of over a thousand spectators, I kept screaming, "I can't believe it" into the tv microphone clipped to my shirt.

I wouldn't say it was a religious experience, probably not equal to the lights of heaven that I'll see someday, but it was exciting, action-packed, fun and did I say exciting? That summer and the summers following I met the North Country's demolition derby stars, like Brian Criss in his #98, Joe Warren, Jeff Warren, Harold Garrant Sr. and his son Harold Garrant Jr. in the double-zero car, Buck Brown, Keeseville's Dennis Joy, the Macey boys, Wild Bill McNamara, Toby Ebersole, Hank Hutchins, Choo Choo Charlie Farnsworth, Mike McCray, "Rockpile" Kyle Wrisley and, of course, the legendary Wayne Seymour and his Team Seymour relatives. There are thousands of men and women who have driven in a demolition derby in the North Country, and hundreds took to the track this summer, at either the Clinton County Fair or the Essex County Fair.

As the older drivers retire, young new stars take to the track. Drivers like Jason Seymour and Cory Seymour and Zach Seymour, the nephews of Wayne Seymour, Tommy Beshaw, Randy Martin in his #77, the Garsow boys, the Mashtare boys, Justin Cayea, who went wild this year in his mini-van, Jimmy "Shrevezy" Shreve, following in the footsteps of his demo derby dad Steve, the St. Mary boys from Malone, and wearing the tie-dyed shirt, Chico Martineau. This year high school kid Cody "The Killer" Kilburn drove in his first demo derby. As luck would have it, he faced mostly veterans and "heavy hitters" in his heat. But it didn't faze Kilburn one bit. He fearlessly crashed into the big boys and finished third in his heat, a remarkable achievement for his first try. You can bet he will be back next year!

And don't think the ladies don't love it as well. This year Peru's Tonya Goucher, Plattsburgh's Tammy Pulsipher and Melissa "Muffy" Brown had great derbies. If you ask long-time derby spectators, they'll tell you that Florence Rivers was the first female derby star in the North Country. She blazed the trail for the young ladies who have followed. Now a senior citizen "Aunt Flo" never misses a Clinton County Fair derby and takes pictures of all the winners.

If you have never seen a demolition derby please join me next summer at either the Clinton County Fair or the Essex County Fair. Get there early because the grandstands get packed early, and both derbies this year had standing-room-only crowds. If you really want an up-close view, let me know and I'll try to get you on the stage as one of my television technical advisors. But be ready to be hit by mud and be ready to duck flying car parts.

Those demolition derby drivers, male and female, are a unique breed. When the summer ends they starting buying cars for next summer. They start dreaming of first place trophies and, better yet, first place money. And then in the middle of winter, they grab one of Foxy's demo derby videos and relive their amazing crashes and the fun they had at a demolition derby.