Demolition Derby Car Coloring Page: Free PDF Sheet

Demolition Derby: History & Fun Facts

A County Fair Idea From Long Island

Demolition derby began in 1958 on Long Island, New York, when a promoter named Larry Mendelsohn noticed that crowds at the local fairgrounds paid more attention to cars crashing on their way to a race than to the actual race itself. He built an event around that idea alone: a muddy oval field, a pack of worn-out cars, and one simple rule, keep driving until every other car in the field is stalled out or too smashed to move.

Full-Size Sedans as the Classic Choice

Older full-size American sedans and station wagons, like the one on this page, became the traditional derby car of choice because their heavy steel frames and long front and rear ends absorb hits better than smaller or newer unibody cars. Drivers look for cars built before crumple-zone engineering became standard, since older steel tends to bend and dent rather than shatter, letting a car survive dozens of hits over the course of one event.

Stripping a Car Down to Fighting Weight

Before a car ever reaches the derby field, builders strip out everything that could hurt a driver or catch fire. Glass, plastic trim, the gas tank, the interior seats, and the dashboard all come out. A single racing seat, a lap-and-shoulder harness, and a fire extinguisher go back in, along with a welded steel roll cage bolted through the floor and around the driver's door to protect against side hits from other cars.

Painted Numbers and Hand-Lettered Names

Every derby car carries a large painted number on the doors or roof so judges and the crowd can track which cars are still running as the field thins out. Many drivers also hand-paint a nickname, hometown, or sponsor name across the hood and trunk, turning a plain stripped-down sedan into a rolling piece of folk art before it ever takes a hit on the field.

The Tow Hook and the Final Hit

A metal tow hook or chain loop welded to the front or rear bumper lets a tractor drag a stalled car off the field without stopping the action for the cars still running. Matches typically last only a few minutes once the last two cars are left circling each other, since by that point most cars are running on a bent frame, a leaking radiator, or just one working headlight.

Derbies at Fairs Across the Country

Demolition derby remains a staple of state and county fairs from Iowa to Pennsylvania, often drawing bigger crowds than the fair's main grandstand concert. Some events add wild variations like school-bus derbies or combine derbies, but the classic full-size sedan format traced on this page, dented, roll-caged, and ready for one more hit, is still the event most fairgoers picture when they hear the word derby.

Judging a Winner When Engines Stall

A car wins a heat simply by being the last one still able to move under its own power, which means drivers spend the final minutes nursing overheated engines, bent steering, and leaking fluids just to keep rolling. Officials watch closely for cars that stop making forward progress for a set amount of time, since a stalled car that cannot back up or turn is pulled from the field even if its engine is still technically running.