Demo derby racing gets in your blood

For car enthusiasts, both the Havre Jaycees Bump 'n' Run and demolition derby are a staple of the Great Northern Fair.

Every year racers from eastern and central Montana make their way to Hill County to hear the screeching tires, smell the clouds of dust rise from the arena and watch cars immobilize or destroy one another.

Seth Hamilton of the Havre Jaycees and chair of the demolition derby and bump-n-run race said this year they decided to tie the two events together.

"So I am hoping it gets rid of a lot of the down time," Hamilton said of the decision.

Ten minutes before the race, he said 13 cars would be participating in the derby, while 16 others would take part in the bump 'n' run.

All around the arena, battle-worn vehicles, most sporting dents or burns, were brought in and slowly rolled off flatbed trailers as drivers prepared for the coming heats.

Matthew Sudduth

Matthew Sudduth of Glasgow was loosening his front left tire.

The burly driver with curly hair was changing the left front tire on Lorraine, his 1979 Chevy Impala. He said that the lug nuts, which secure the wheel onto the car, had loosened because the rims were too large.

Sudduth is readying to take part in the bump 'n' run, a car race that differs from traditional racing where cars usually race around a circular track. The bump 'n' run takes place on a track a mile and a half in length and is marked by jumps, sharp right turns and large tires scattered about for drivers to swerve and miss.

Drivers are also allowed to rub, bump and spin other drivers out into corner.

The preparation is important. It's a lesson Sudduth learned the hard way in one race, where he forgot to change the fluids in Lorraine, something he believes cost him a victory in that race.

The car lacks any window glass, and is instead covered by plastic mesh.

Sudduth became involved with bump 'n' run racing two years ago when he drove his cousin's car in a race in Dodson. He said afterward he was hooked.

"It was one those things like, 'are we going to start building my car now or wait a year,'" Sudduth said.

He said that about a week later he and his cousin bought Lorraine.

"It's almost like a family trade, you know," Sudduth said. "Once someone comes in you are kind of stuck with this for life."

The Havre Jaycees Bump 'n' Run was Sudduth's third race.

When he first got Lorraine he said the car didn't have a gas pedal. Aside from a brake pedal, a steering wheel and the frame, there wasn't much else.

Sudduth and some of his friends put in all the parts that would make Lorraine run including a new 350 cubic inch engine, transmission, driver's seat and gas pedal.

Sudduth said that, although there was a lot of work to be done on Lorraine, he did not have to spend much money because he has friends with access to parts.

He said from time to time there is tension between drivers, given the competitive nature of the sport.

Before Sudduth begins a race, he said that he likes to feel a little unease.

"You want to go in kind of nervous. It's a lot funner that way," Sudduth said. "Go in a little nervous cause as soon as that nervousness wears off you have more fun than you thought you would and then it is just straight fun."

Ryan Erickson

Though the bump 'n' run allows for some minor ramming between drivers, it also differs greatly from a demolition derby. Unlike the bump 'n' run, where the objective is to finish the race first, the aim of the demolition derby is to disable the opposing car and be the last one left operating.

Ryan Erickson of Havre has been taking part in derbies for nearly 20 years.

When asked how many races he has been involved in he said, "too many to count."

Erickson said he has competed in derbies throughout Montana, in Canada, Topeka, Kansas and Salt Lake City among other places.

He said his uncles and father got him interested in the sport.

Erickson's longtime participation as a competitor was evidenced by the condition of his 1984 Lincoln Town Car, which incurred damage from many hits.

The Jaycees Demolition Derby was to be the third in which Erickson would drive his 1984 Lincoln Town Car. In the lead up to the Jaycees Derby, Erickson said he had to do a lot of fine-tuning and put in a new engine.

Erickson said on average he competes in between three and eight derbies a year.

He said that to be a successful derby driver one must constantly work to identify and learn from mistakes and be resilient.

When the competition is over and his car is damaged from the hits it has taken, Erickson said, it can be frustrating, but he makes the needed repairs and gets ready for the next derby.

Amanda LeMere

The derby also has its share of newcomers. Though she has long been an avid fan, the Jaycees derby will mark Amanda LeMere's debut as a derby driver.

Before the race, she stood with her husband, Patrick LeMere, a owner of J and L auto repair, and three of their children next to her green and lavender car. Children and friends etched their signatures onto the vehicle.

"We just slapped some paint on there, and finished some things to make it a little easier for me, but they really worked their butts off for the past week," she said.

LeMere said that going in, she was more excited than nervous.

In the end, LeMere would come in second place in the heat in which she competed,

When asked if she would be participating in future derbies she gave an unequivocal "yes".