title: Crash Burn Love: Demolition Derby
author:  Bill Lowenburg 
description: From the book jacket: Crash Burn Love: Demolition Derby is the first book to detail both the public and private side of a wildly popular yet little understood American sport. Demolition derbies began in the late 1950s, and today an estimated one million fans attend the 1500 to 2500 or more demolition derbies held around the United States each year. To the uninitiated, demolition derby might appear to be nothing more than a violent spectacle of destruction. Bill Lowenburgs black-and white-photographs and writing tell the broader story of the participants and their fans, showing the sport as a form of mechanized folk art and play for working class and rural Americans.Lowenburg explores the gritty world of demolition derby with a questioning as well as an understanding eye. Besides capturing the excitement of competition in the arena, he also takes the viewer behind the scenes of this previously undocumented sport, showing the intense activity in the pit, backyard preparation of cars, and portraits of competitors and fans.Not surprising for a former history teacher, Lowenburg associates demolition derby with bygone times, when friends and families combined socializing with physical and mechanical work. Lowenburgs subjects work hard and play hard. In an age of made-for-media heroes, Lowenburg recognizes the genuine importance of a close-to-home quest for local recognition among family, friends, and acquaintances. As one oil and mud splattered competitor told Lowenburg, This aint no hobby; its a way of life. In addition to Lowenburgs insightful commentary and competitors telling of their own stories, the book includes an overview of the rules and preparations for competition, the history and future of the sport, and a collection of recommended readings, films, and websites.Crash Burn Love is a book for demolition derby competitors and fans, photography enthusiasts, and anyone interested in American history and culture.From Library Journal 9/15/05 "School librarian and photographer Lowenburg has produced a fantastic collection of photographs of one of America's seldom discussed but very popular subcultures, the demolition derby. His book is perhaps the first to document this particular phenomenon. " " Lowenburg's two short essays, describing the rules and history of the sport as well as the atmosphere of the derby scene, add to the authentic, radiator-fume, oil-smoke, and greasy mood." "Recommended both for public libraries, especially where demolition derbies are popular, and for photography and cultural studies collections in academic libraries, owing to the high quality of Lowenburg's pictorial documentation." Todd Spires, Bradley University, Peoria
zlib_text: Table of Contents
  
  [CRASH AND BURN](Crash_and_Burn_split_004.html#filepos7801)
  
  > > [Prologue](Crash_and_Burn_split_005.html#filepos7916)
  
  [CRASH](Crash_and_Burn_split_006.html#filepos12729)
  
  > > [Chapter One](Crash_and_Burn_split_007.html#filepos12918)
  
  > > [Chapter Two](Crash_and_Burn_split_008.html#filepos29936)
  
  > > [Chapter Three](Crash_and_Burn_split_009.html#filepos58528)
  
  > > [Chapter Four](Crash_and_Burn_split_010.html#filepos74981)
  
  > > [Chapter Five](Crash_and_Burn_split_011.html#filepos87172)
  
  > > [Chapter Six](Crash_and_Burn_split_012.html#filepos116261)
  
  > > [Chapter Seven](Crash_and_Burn_split_013.html#filepos139781)
  
  > > [Chapter Eight](Crash_and_Burn_split_014.html#filepos162042)
  
  > > [Chapter Nine](Crash_and_Burn_split_015.html#filepos171491)
  
  > > [Chapter Ten](Crash_and_Burn_split_016.html#filepos189083)
  
  > > [Chapter Eleven](Crash_and_Burn_split_017.html#filepos210988)
  
  > > [Chapter Twelve](Crash_and_Burn_split_018.html#filepos231744)
  
  > > [Chapter Thirteen](Crash_a