Demolition derby veteran

ROCHESTER — Bill Jones of Berwick, Maine, wears a red Hall Bros. Roofing T-shirt, and a ballcap of the same color and logo as he sits on the dented hood of a car with a cracked windshield and the body gutted. This is a scene of contentment and happiness for Jones.

Jones, 41, is at the grandstand of the Rochester Fair grounds, where he has been coming since he was a kid. The fair, which will run Sept. 12-22, and Jones will be ready again for the demolition derby. Jones has helped the fair for years and has always been a part of the motor sports events. Ever since he was old enough to drive, he has been behind the wheels of buses, trucks and cars in order to crash, race, and even roll over vehicles. He loves it.

"I would call a good portion of it a sport and a lot of it more of a hobby and an adrenaline rush," he said. "Everybody looks for some type of adrenaline in life, and that’s what I get out of it. I love the crowd. My kids are always in the stands and having the crowd cheer is the best part of it."

He said this year's fair will have a lot of new features to be excited about, from monster trucks to stock car racing ... all kinds of stuff, he said with enthusiasm."This is going to be our biggest year in the grandstands yet."

When asked if he thinks the demolition derby is dangerous, he replied with a grin, "There’s some bumps and bruises and hey, you live a hardcore lifestyle; ya know, I’m a roofer so I bang my fingers every day so … when I’m at work, it hurts and it’s not fun but when I’m here, it doesn’t bother you so much because you’re having a good time."

Jones said the action is what first drew him to this subculture. "The action, the crowd and I love competition. My whole life has been about competition. I fought professional mixed martial arts for 12 years, and, again, I love the adrenaline."

You might want to know how one can win at this sport. "There’s a method to it," he said from experience. "You’ve got to be cautious with your hits and know where you’re going. You’ve got to pay attention to who’s coming after you. You look at all the cars and some are built better than others and if you go hitting that guy, he’s coming after you, so you’ve got to put some thought into it. Some people go right after the biggest cars, but then that puts a target on you. My brain says you’ve got to play the game a little bit."

There are rules and people all around the track are watching. Points are given for hits and there’s a time limit. If your car is still running, that counts; you’re still in the game. There's a payout for first, second and third place, and they get trophies.

"If you want to get involved, you need to find a beat-up car first and you put a little bit of time into it, strip out the interior and some of the glass and you go run it," Jones said. "There’s so many cheap cars out there right now."

Is your car ready? "Oh yeah. I’ve been working on it for weeks," he said with confidence.

If you want to give Jones and other drivers some competition, it’s not too late. They accept drivers and cars right up until a minute before the events.

Visit rochesterfair.com and skyfireproductions.us for rules and information.