DEMOLITION DERBIES IN TENNESSEE AND KENTUCKY

Bald tires spit mud. Smack! An ancient sedan with war paint on its doors crashes into the back of an orange car painted like the General Lee. Pow! An old Cutlass bashes into two others and for a moment all are interlocked in a ball of grinding metal—a ménage à wreck. It's Saturday night in Paris (Paris, Tennessee, that is), so it must be demolition derby night. Call it a redneck riot: Dying motors scream over the sounds of tearing metal and Coors Light–clutching fans. Demolition Derby Madness takes place March through September across small towns in Kentucky and Tennessee, and it's worth a trip just for the release of endorphins. While it's possible to buy your own junker and race—prepare it by removing all the windshields and shielding the gas tanks—we think watching is just as much fun. This is, after all, a sport where even cars that catch on fire are extinguished and allowed back into the competition. Most people watch NASCAR just for the crashes, so why not skip all the boring bits?

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