Dent National Championships

By: © Nelson Taylor 2008

Festival Location: Steubenville, OH, USA

Festival State: Ohio Festivals

Festival Type(s): Car Shows , Motor Sports Events, Bizarre Festivals

Demolition derby is the 50-year old of sport of smashing beat-up cars into each other. Drivers aim for the radiator and wheel panels. The last car running wins. Although many small towns host a national championship, the Dent National Championships, hosted since 1998, is the real deal.

Driver and Dent rep Todd Dube' says, "We will only allow current feature winners from any derby in the country to enter, but they must show proof." Seeing that the Dent purse is $20,000 ($10,000 to the winner), you can see why some might try to forge their way in. "We have to check up on these guys," Dube' says, "because they have a tendency to fabricate the proof every now and then." Not only is Dent the biggest derby, averaging over a hundred drivers and upwards of 15,000 spectators, but it's also the baddest. "People are always blown away with how vicious the derby we put on is," Dube' says. "It's the hardcore of the sport. We almost had two drivers killed at our last event because of severe hits."

While the most recent Dent National Championships happened in Steubenville, OH, the event changes locations every year. Tickets for the event usually range anywhere between $12 to $15 and it always occurs in late April or early May.