with glitter-covered cars, women of the derby can hold their own

The Wyoming State Fair (WSF) Demolition Derby has seen a steady increase in women drivers over recent years.

Only one woman, Alexandria “Lexi” Wells, competed in the 2020 WSF Demolition Derby. Last year, there were two – Spring Stinton and Kelli Swisher – and this year, there will be at least four –Lexi, Spring, Kelli and Kiari Vaillette.

“Last year was my first run, and it was intoxicating,” Spring shares. “I felt my heart in my throat, and my brain kind of started buzzing. After the first hit, the adrenaline flooded through me like a dam had broke.”

Ready for the challenge

While many derbies throughout the country place women in a separate “Powder Puff” division, there’s no such segregation at WSF. For the women competing, this is empowering, and they’re undaunted, ready to take on the challenge.

“I’m not really nervous about competing against men. I’m perfectly fine with it, and I hope they treat me like one of the guys, instead of like a girl,” states first-time Derby Driver Kiara.

“In a sport like demolition derby, I don’t think it really makes a big difference whether it is a male driver or female driver, because in the end, it’s just a car,” she adds. “Some men may hit harder simply because they have more experience, but a woman can get in a car and hit just as hard.”

The drivers’ courage should not be mistaken for naïveté. They know full well the difficulties ahead of them. Yet, they feel completely able and ready to take on any challenger, regardless of gender.

“I don’t think it’s intimidating that they’re men. I think if women rolled in with some of those cars in the arena, I would be just as intimidated,” Lexi says. “We’re on a level playing field. We all have steel cages around us. It’s not that different.”

In fact, the drivers stress they would rather be competing against men.

“There was a lot of talk about a Powder Puff division – we’re not in there to be in Powder Puff. We’re fully aware of what we’re getting into,” says Spring. “There are so many seasoned drivers who have their cars, built to the teeth, and we know they’re going to hit us and they’re going to hit us hard.”

“I would be extremely angry if they put me in a women’s class,” Lexi adds. “The first year I ran, I had some officials speculating if they were going to try to find wives of drivers so they could put me in a Powder Puff class, and said, ‘No, I don’t want to do that. I’m building my car to run it with everybody else.’”

Receiving resistance, accepting support

Each of the women competing reported some degree of resistance, whether it be from family, friends or other drivers. But, they all ultimately expressed they’ve received overwhelming support as they pursued the demolition derby.

“There’s always going to be somebody who grumbles because they want to have their exclusive male group,” Spring says.

“But, the community of people who were there for us was amazing,” she continues. “During my first heat, I got knocked out of the competition, so I couldn’t run anymore. I tore up two of my tires, and I didn’t have any spare. I don’t remember who it was off the top of my head, but they were like, ‘Oh, you need this size tire? Here, just take mine because I can’t run anymore.’ It was awesome.”

“If I ask any other driver for help or if they need help, the entire community will surround the person who needs help. Seriously, I have been so blessed by these people,” Lexi agrees.

Setting a positive example

Setting a positive example of powerful women is also important for these drivers.

“It’s been really special for me because I get to see little girls in the crowd, they’ll come up and find me in my glittery car and they want to take a picture. I was sitting there as a kid looking up to these drivers. Now, I get to be one of those drivers,” Lexi says.

“It’s important they see women included in car sports, motorcycles and everything,” she adds.

With this, the four competitors hope to see more women join demolition derby in the future.

“It’s a great experience. I think more females should definitely get into it. Not only will it help them learn how to work on a car, but it’ll help break the mold further of what men’s sport versus women’s sports could be,” Spring says.

“I feel if more females got into demolition derby, they would be more independent and they would have a better understanding of the mechanical side of their vehicles,” she concludes. “It would also make people more aware this sport isn’t just for men, females can do this too.”

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