Anna Faltermeier/Sun Gazette Chris Johnson of Platte City takes a break from welding his car July 9 in his garage. He’ll drive the car in the upcoming Platte County Fair demolition derby. The fair runs Wednesday to Saturday, July 23 to 26.
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Demolition man
Chris Johnson spends his free time building derby cars and then destroying them
By Michael Westblade
The used carcasses of old cars dot Chris Johnson’s yard outside Platte City. The metal husks that were once pristine family automobiles now look like they were used as chew toys for a pet Tyrannosaurus rex.
Their front ends are ripped off, leaving a jagged, exposed hole where the engine used to be and all along the outside of the cars are huge dents and scrape marks. The trunks are smashed into the back seats.
Johnson’s no junk man, though. The automotive corpses in his yard are the aftermath of his hobby.
When Johnson isn’t working on freight cars for Union Pacific Railroad, he’s a demolition derby driver, a rare breed of gear head who goes through cars like some people go through razor blades.
With the the Platte County Fair’s demolition derby only a couple of weeks away, Johnson is putting the finishing touches on a 1993 Ford Crown Victoria. The car, which sits in his garage torn down to the bare essentials, used to be a friend’s family vehicle, but when the transmission went out, he gave it to Johnson for his next derby.
Since the cars are only good for one derby, Johnson has to constantly keep an eye out for new vehicles.
“That’s the fun part, to try and find vehicles before other people do,” he said. “Once you get into it, people hear you derby and when their car breaks down they want to get rid of it.”
When Johnson gets a car, it takes about two months, four hours a day four days a week, and up to $500 to get it derby ready. That means ripping out the interior, the windows and everything you don’t need when you plan to smash into other cars for 20 minutes.
He’ll also strengthen the frame and build a roll cage, then drop in his own transmission, engine, rear end and fuel tank. Because the car is built to be a weapon, the gas tank goes in the back seat where it’s a little more secure along with the transmission cooler and the battery rides shotgun in the front seat.
This year, Johnson plans to ride in five derbies, which means he’ll go through five cars and a lot of time in the garage. It’s the kind of hobby, he said, which requires a lot of free time.
When the car’s ready, Johnson will take it to the Platte County Fair derby to see what it can do. If he makes it through the qualifying rounds in his division, the V-8 category, he’ll go up against 12 to 15 cars in the feature.
After the derby, win or lose, Johnson will strip off whatever parts are still functional, scrap the car and start looking for a new vehicle for the next derby.
Dwayne Armstrong, another derby driver who helps Johnson work on his car, said it was hard to get over seeing your car destroyed, but it was just part of derby driving.
“It gets frustrating,” he said. “You put so much time and money in a car and the luck of the draw is what it is. But you can’t do nothing about it.”
It’s a strange hobby and Johnson admits it, but it’s his passion.
“Ninety-nine percent of the people think you’re nuts for doing this, for spending all this time and money” he said. “But you only live once, and you have to have fun doing something.”
How it works:
All the cars line up in a circle, with their bumpers facing the middle. When the derby begins, they all careen toward each other in a plume of dust and the last car running is the winner.
The only place you can’t hit a car is on the driver’s side door, and the object is to render the other cars inoperable by whatever means necessary, which includes breaking radiators and axles or puncturing tires.
Johnson said when it came down to it, driving in demolition derbies was mostly luck and a little technique mixed with self-control.
“A lot of it is luck because you can never prevent stuff from happening,” he said. “But the important things are your driving technique and staying calm. It’s hard to keep focused. Some people get hit and go ballistic and destroy their car. You have to be smart about it. Just sit there and pick out a target.”
Staff writer Michael Westblade can be reached at 389-6636 or michaelwestblade@npgco.com.
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Their front ends are ripped off, leaving a jagged, exposed hole where the engine used to be and all along the outside of the cars are huge dents and scrape marks. The trunks are smashed into the back seats.
Johnson’s no junk man, though. The automotive corpses in his yard are the aftermath of his hobby.
When Johnson isn’t working on freight cars for Union Pacific Railroad, he’s a demolition derby driver, a rare breed of gear head who goes through cars like some people go through razor blades.
With the the Platte County Fair’s demolition derby only a couple of weeks away, Johnson is putting the finishing touches on a 1993 Ford Crown Victoria. The car, which sits in his garage torn down to the bare essentials, used to be a friend’s family vehicle, but when the transmission went out, he gave it to Johnson for his next derby.
Since the cars are only good for one derby, Johnson has to constantly keep an eye out for new vehicles.
“That’s the fun part, to try and find vehicles before other people do,” he said. “Once you get into it, people hear you derby and when their car breaks down they want to get rid of it.”
When Johnson gets a car, it takes about two months, four hours a day four days a week, and up to $500 to get it derby ready. That means ripping out the interior, the windows and everything you don’t need when you plan to smash into other cars for 20 minutes.
He’ll also strengthen the frame and build a roll cage, then drop in his own transmission, engine, rear end and fuel tank. Because the car is built to be a weapon, the gas tank goes in the back seat where it’s a little more secure along with the transmission cooler and the battery rides shotgun in the front seat.
This year, Johnson plans to ride in five derbies, which means he’ll go through five cars and a lot of time in the garage. It’s the kind of hobby, he said, which requires a lot of free time.
When the car’s ready, Johnson will take it to the Platte County Fair derby to see what it can do. If he makes it through the qualifying rounds in his division, the V-8 category, he’ll go up against 12 to 15 cars in the feature.
After the derby, win or lose, Johnson will strip off whatever parts are still functional, scrap the car and start looking for a new vehicle for the next derby.
Dwayne Armstrong, another derby driver who helps Johnson work on his car, said it was hard to get over seeing your car destroyed, but it was just part of derby driving.
“It gets frustrating,” he said. “You put so much time and money in a car and the luck of the draw is what it is. But you can’t do nothing about it.”
It’s a strange hobby and Johnson admits it, but it’s his passion.
“Ninety-nine percent of the people think you’re nuts for doing this, for spending all this time and money” he said. “But you only live once, and you have to have fun doing something.”
How it works:
All the cars line up in a circle, with their bumpers facing the middle. When the derby begins, they all careen toward each other in a plume of dust and the last car running is the winner.
The only place you can’t hit a car is on the driver’s side door, and the object is to render the other cars inoperable by whatever means necessary, which includes breaking radiators and axles or puncturing tires.
Johnson said when it came down to it, driving in demolition derbies was mostly luck and a little technique mixed with self-control.
“A lot of it is luck because you can never prevent stuff from happening,” he said. “But the important things are your driving technique and staying calm. It’s hard to keep focused. Some people get hit and go ballistic and destroy their car. You have to be smart about it. Just sit there and pick out a target.”
Staff writer Michael Westblade can be reached at 389-6636 or michaelwestblade@npgco.com.