MONDAY JULY 31, 2000

Demolition derby driver makes preparing an entry a neighborhood affair

By Erik Burriss
Staff Writer

The scariest moment in more than 30 demolition derbies for Gary Mullholand came when he found his Gran Torino underneath another car.

A few years ago at the Seneca County Fair's derby, a car zooming along backwards hit the left front corner of Mullholand's entry.

"It ended up with the back tire on top of my car, burning rubber," he said. "I could see the roof of my car turning cherry red."

Unable to see what was going on because of billowing clouds of smoke obscuring the crash, his daughter, Sasha, began screaming, Mullholand said.

"Uh-huh," agreed Sasha, now 11-years-old.

After the derby, Mullholand's car looked like it had been chopped off just behind the back tires. The rear end was completely folded under what had been the back seat.

For the last nine years, Mullholand has been driving in demolition derbies at area fairs. While he may not do all of them in a given year, he goes to the Attica Independent Fair and Hancock, Wyandot and Seneca county fairs.

So why would a seemingly sane individual enter a competition where you could end up with a moving automobile in your lap? And why would same seemingly sane individual do about four derbies a year for almost a decade?

"Quality time with my kids," Mullholand answered, without hesitation.

Actually, it's more like quality time with all the kids in the neighborhood.

When Mullholand gets a car ready for a derby, all the children living around his CR 6 home help out. In return, they get to paint there names on the car.

"They have a contest to see whose name gets smashed up the most," he said.

Mullholand said his 14-year-old son Derrick has learned enough about cars to be able to build one himself.

Getting a car derby-ready mostly involves taking stuff out. All the glass and chrome must be removed, a hole has to be cut in the hood -- to allow fire extinguishers access to the engine -- and the fuel tank has to be taken out and a new one,along with the battery, must be relocated to the driver's compartment.

The doors must be welded or wired shut, so the driver gets in and out of the car "Dukes of Hazzard" style.

"Maybe when I'm to old to climb in and out of the windows I'll quit," Mullholand said.

In the space formerly occupied by the back seat, the fuel tank in his current car wiggles when shaken.

"I'm going to have have to tighten it," he said.

"Tubing the tires is a good idea too," he continued. "Without tubes, one good hit will let all your air out."

Mullholand had a car ready to go for the Seneca County Fair's derby, but because it wasn't running right, he started over with an '85 Ford Escort wagon.

"This was a drivable car yesterday afternoon," he said.

It was quick work, since it normally takes a week to modify a car to derby specifications.

Mullholand's black-and-white Escort bears a red 11 in honor of Sasha. When numbering a car, he either uses one of his kids' ages or adds them together.

Prominently mounted on the roof is a big sign with two of Mullholand's sponsors -- Reinhart Brothers Remodeling and Mohawk Fence Co. -- giving the Escort the look of a pudgy shark. The sponsors pay for the $400 worth of parts it takes to get a car derby-ready.

The sponsors get excited when their cars do well, Mullholand said.

Two years ago he was sponsored by Rosier's Deli and Country Market for the Seneca County derby.

"I was hitting people and I was putting them up on two wheels. Rosier was happy to see the car with his sign tearing it up," he said.

"The small cars are the fun ones," Mullholand said.

In nine years of derbying, he said, the number of cars in the compact division of a derby has gone from four or five to 15 or 20.

"We're running out of the big cars," he said. "Pretty soon the compacts will be the derby."