I had the fabulous experience a couple weeks ago of shooting video at very close up at a demolition derby in the Poconos. I was right above the action, on the infield, in the middle of the mud. The producers parked a big truck for me to set up a tripod just ten feet from the edge of the dirt pit where the hulking skeleton cars were smashing each other up. Pure awesomeness! No, I won’t be videoblogging it, unfortunately. It was a gig for an ESPN show.

One of the most interesting thing about a demo derby is the people involved, of course. First of all, what would possess a person to spend untold hours modding an old car just to trash it in the matter of minutes? The prize money for this event was like $1000 for first place. I can’t imagine after buying the car, fixing it up, flatbedding it to the event, the gas, the food, etc. they’d even break even.

I guess that’s what makes it a uniquely American affair. Cars. Crashing. Loudness. Mud. Lots of mud. All because, well, it’s fun.

Technorati Tags: driving, cars, americana, demolition derby, hobbies

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