Post by Mike B on Dec 20, 2008 11:49:36 GMT -4
This guy likes his cars smashed
My Favorite Ride: By Laura Lane H-T columnist | llane@heraldt.com
February 3, 2008
BLOOMINGTON — When it comes to cars, Steven Walcott likes them large and heavy, preferably with a big front end. Over the past few years, he has owned a 1975 Buick Special, a 1976 Buick LeSabre and several Ford Crown Victorias: a 1984, a 1985 and a 1997.
“I don’t consider them classics,” he said. “And I don’t feel bad when I’m done with them.”
The 22-year-old buys big old cars, removes the seats and glass and installs roll bars and padding. Then he heads for a muddy dirt track, accelerates into the middle and crashes away into other cars until his engine is smoking and the car won’t move another inch.
Walcott is happiest when he’s driving in a demolition derby.
Last Saturday night, he finished fourth among 25 cars in a prelude to the 2008 Monster Jam at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Walcott spent months preparing a 1984 Crown Vic, complete with a vinyl landau roof, for the competition.
Then he spent 20 minutes of sheer delight, crashing and nearly destroying the quarter-century-old car before a sold-out crowd.
“They shut us down with five cars still running,” Walcott complained a few days after the derby. “I think I could have gotten second if they had let us finish. Three of the other cars left were in worse condition than mine.”
That’s hard to imagine; take a look at the “after” picture.
Walcott said the RCA Dome derby track was small, making driving difficult. “It was a struggle to move the cars around that night,” he said. “Every time I lined up to make a hit, I was getting hit. But obviously, I made it through.”
Despite its ready-for-the-junkyard appearance, he drove the car into his garage after last week’s competition. Walcott intends to get it ready for yet another demolition derby. “We are going to fix a few places where it’s bent and, hopefully, take it back out,” he said. “I drove it into the shop, so it very much moves. We’ll be back with this car.”
Walcott’s friends know he’s always in the market for potential demolition derby vehicles. When he heard about a 1984 Crown Victoria in Terre Haute an older couple was selling for $250, he decided to buy it, especially since it was delivered to his garage. “It had been sitting four or five years, but it was great,” he said. “It had mice nests and stuff in it, kind of nasty, and it took us awhile to clean it out.”
He stripped the car down to just the body and frame, and started rebuilding the interior for derby racing. “Nothing about the car is stock — the motor, drive shaft, rear end, tires, wheels, steering column. Nothing.”
The blue paint was dingy and faded, so he repainted the car bright yellow.
“I go overboard when I build them,” Walcott said. “I spend way too much money. It makes no sense at all.”
A cousin got him interested in demolition derby cars when Walcott was 10 or 11 years old. He would help transform the cars, then watch from the stands and dream of the day he would be out there — wheels spinning, sparks and mud flying.
He has raced in derbies the past five years and once won a first-place trophy His cars have never caught fire, and his only injuries have been cuts, bruises and a knot on the elbow sustained during the Monroe County Fair demolition derby last summer.
No matter how much time he invests in salvaging his cars, he usually is the final owner. “Most often, they go to the junkyard,” he said. They pay him for the scrap metal, and he goes out and invests in another big car to crash.
“Some people, I guess they don’t understand it,” Walcott said.
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, IN 47402.
Walcott shows off the fourth-place trophy he won with his yellow Crown Vic Jan. 26 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Believe it or not, Walcott drove the car into his garage after the contest. Courtesy photos
Walcott, of Bloomington, poses with his newly rehabbed car Jan. 26 before the start of the demolition derby.
Steven Walcott actually drove his Crown Vic out of the oval after a demolition derby oval Jan. 26 in Indianapolis’ RCA dome.
Walcott participates in a demolition derby in his Ford Crown Victoria, center, Jan. 26 in Indianapolis. He took home the fourth-place trophy.
My Favorite Ride: By Laura Lane H-T columnist | llane@heraldt.com
February 3, 2008
BLOOMINGTON — When it comes to cars, Steven Walcott likes them large and heavy, preferably with a big front end. Over the past few years, he has owned a 1975 Buick Special, a 1976 Buick LeSabre and several Ford Crown Victorias: a 1984, a 1985 and a 1997.
“I don’t consider them classics,” he said. “And I don’t feel bad when I’m done with them.”
The 22-year-old buys big old cars, removes the seats and glass and installs roll bars and padding. Then he heads for a muddy dirt track, accelerates into the middle and crashes away into other cars until his engine is smoking and the car won’t move another inch.
Walcott is happiest when he’s driving in a demolition derby.
Last Saturday night, he finished fourth among 25 cars in a prelude to the 2008 Monster Jam at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Walcott spent months preparing a 1984 Crown Vic, complete with a vinyl landau roof, for the competition.
Then he spent 20 minutes of sheer delight, crashing and nearly destroying the quarter-century-old car before a sold-out crowd.
“They shut us down with five cars still running,” Walcott complained a few days after the derby. “I think I could have gotten second if they had let us finish. Three of the other cars left were in worse condition than mine.”
That’s hard to imagine; take a look at the “after” picture.
Walcott said the RCA Dome derby track was small, making driving difficult. “It was a struggle to move the cars around that night,” he said. “Every time I lined up to make a hit, I was getting hit. But obviously, I made it through.”
Despite its ready-for-the-junkyard appearance, he drove the car into his garage after last week’s competition. Walcott intends to get it ready for yet another demolition derby. “We are going to fix a few places where it’s bent and, hopefully, take it back out,” he said. “I drove it into the shop, so it very much moves. We’ll be back with this car.”
Walcott’s friends know he’s always in the market for potential demolition derby vehicles. When he heard about a 1984 Crown Victoria in Terre Haute an older couple was selling for $250, he decided to buy it, especially since it was delivered to his garage. “It had been sitting four or five years, but it was great,” he said. “It had mice nests and stuff in it, kind of nasty, and it took us awhile to clean it out.”
He stripped the car down to just the body and frame, and started rebuilding the interior for derby racing. “Nothing about the car is stock — the motor, drive shaft, rear end, tires, wheels, steering column. Nothing.”
The blue paint was dingy and faded, so he repainted the car bright yellow.
“I go overboard when I build them,” Walcott said. “I spend way too much money. It makes no sense at all.”
A cousin got him interested in demolition derby cars when Walcott was 10 or 11 years old. He would help transform the cars, then watch from the stands and dream of the day he would be out there — wheels spinning, sparks and mud flying.
He has raced in derbies the past five years and once won a first-place trophy His cars have never caught fire, and his only injuries have been cuts, bruises and a knot on the elbow sustained during the Monroe County Fair demolition derby last summer.
No matter how much time he invests in salvaging his cars, he usually is the final owner. “Most often, they go to the junkyard,” he said. They pay him for the scrap metal, and he goes out and invests in another big car to crash.
“Some people, I guess they don’t understand it,” Walcott said.
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, IN 47402.
Walcott shows off the fourth-place trophy he won with his yellow Crown Vic Jan. 26 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Believe it or not, Walcott drove the car into his garage after the contest. Courtesy photos
Walcott, of Bloomington, poses with his newly rehabbed car Jan. 26 before the start of the demolition derby.
Steven Walcott actually drove his Crown Vic out of the oval after a demolition derby oval Jan. 26 in Indianapolis’ RCA dome.
Walcott participates in a demolition derby in his Ford Crown Victoria, center, Jan. 26 in Indianapolis. He took home the fourth-place trophy.