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St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
November 18, 1990, Sunday, City Edition
"Crash and burn': What could be more fun?
BYLINE: BILL ADAIR
SECTION: TAMPA BAY AND STATE; Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 504 words
DATELINE: ST. PETERSBURG
The spectators came to see destruction.
"You're just waiting for that moment when you hear that bone-crushing sound," said Largo resident Jason Downs, 18. "It just sounds awesome."
There were plenty of crushing sounds Saturday night at the Coors Extra Gold Motor Spectacular at the Florida Suncoast Dome.
Monster trucks scrunched cars as if they were aluminum cans. A demolition derby left the floor littered with wrecks. And Robosaurus, a huge, fire-breathing robot, devoured cars.
The fans included a tax processor from Bradenton who wants her pickup to be "the biggest and the baddest."
There was a welder wearing a baseball cap that said "The South will rise again." And there was a 9-year-old Tarpon Springs boy who said he came "to hear the big crunch."
They came in monster trucks of their own or in the family station wagon. Because there was no home team, they cheered for Ford or Chevy. Or they just cheered to hear the big crunch.
Many fans said they would love to get behind the wheel of a monster truck so they could get revenge against in-considerate drivers who cut them off in traffic or change lanes without signaling.
"Everybody wants to do it to take out their aggressions for driving in rush-hour traffic," said Stan Iceman, the weld-er.
What does he like to see at these events?
"Crash and burn " he said.
Chris Ellwood, 39, an Eckerd Drug photo technician, said, "You have to behave yourself so much in life that it's nice to come here and let your hair down."
The event attracted more than 10,000 cheering fans Saturday night, and thousands more are expected for a 2 p.m. matinee today.
The destruction is a power trip for the people behind the wheel.
"It's a big thrill," said Michael Ryder, 32, the chief pilot of Robosaurus. Ryder prefers Pintos when Robosaurus is hungry. "We can cut a Pinto in half," he said.
Jack Willman, who drove the monster truck Taurus, said fans like it when his 4-ton beast smashes on top of the helpless cars.
"They like to see crashes, but they don't like to see people get hurt," he said.
Paula Harbuck, who drove the "Flirtin' with Disaster" mud racer, put it more bluntly: "The crowd likes to see blood."
Although no blood was visible Saturday night, Robosaurus did dribble some shattered glass out of its mouth after it bit into a car.
Demolition derby driver Allison Bly, a Clearwater resident, said those in the audience Saturday night are the same people who "go to the races to see wrecks."
Downs, the fan who likes the "bone-crushing sound," said the Motor Spectacular is home-grown version of a Span-ish bullfight.
"It's American ingenuity," he said. "All the true Americans come here. This is probably where you will see the most flannel shirts in the world."
LOAD-DATE: November 11, 1992
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
DISTRIBUTION: TAMPA BAY AND STATE
GRAPHIC: BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, (2); BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, John P. Jones; Taurus jumps a line of cars Saturday night during the Coors Extra Gold Motor Spectacular at the Florida Suncoast Dome; Allison Bly; Mi-chael Ryder
Times Publishing Company
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