The First Book of Photographs about Demolition Derby
Some crash for money
Some crash for love
Some crash to feel what it’s like to survive
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 1,500 to 2,500 or more demolition derbies held around the United States each year.
In addition to the photographs that capture the excitement of competition in the arena, Lowenburg takes the viewer behind the scenes of this previously undocumented sport, showing the intense activity in the pit, the backyard preparation of the cars, and portraits of competitors and fans.
The essays contain 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. As one oil-and-mud-splattered competitor commented, “This ain’t no hobby; it’s a way of life.”
"Lowenburg’s work truly shines with passion and empathic glee when all rules are suspended and automotive bedlam sets in. The smoke, the clank, and the chain, the improbable solutions, the demonstrative inventors, men and occasionally women, wielding sledge hammer and torch, work against possibility, and the result is always that the beast with many names is still running."
From the foreword by Larry Fink
- 81 black-and-white photographs
- Overview of the sport, rules, competitors' stories
- Essay: Demolition Derby, Past Present and Future
- Bibliography of additional demolition derby resources