A demolition tradition Listen to this family for a crash course in derby driving

The family has been crashing cars for generations.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Grandpa's car caught fire once, and another time he almost got hit by a flying fender.
Uncle Bob has rolled a car, and last year Uncle David smoked a tranny.
Jason Diver, the third generation Diver to race in local demolition derbies, will start his engine at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds on Wednesday with his eyes wide open.
"The next day it hurts the worst," said Jason, 22, who has been entering demolition derbies for four years. "It's like having a traffic accident. You bend in ways you didn't know you could bend before."
Make that dozens of traffic accidents, all within the space of about an hour.
Getting ready
For the past two weeks Jason and his uncle, David Diver, 25, have been laboring to get their vintage Detroit iron in shape for the motorized mayhem that's their family tradition.
The two are the youngest members of a clan that has collected dozens of trophies at local fairs, and tens of thousands of dollars in purse money, over the span of several decades.
Jason and David haven't yet taken home a trophy. David's brother, Bob Diver, 34, says he has won more than he can count, at both the Trumbull County and Canfield fairs, collecting $20,000 in prizes during his best two years.
Another brother, John Jr., who was Jason's father, won three consecutive years at the Canfield Fair before he passed away in 1991. Brother Billy also ran cars, and their father, John Diver, ran in demolition derbies for 25 years before giving it up when he turned 56.
"When you start your motor, the smell of a hot engine gets your adrenaline pumping and you are ready to go," said John Diver, who is now 69 and still working at the family business, Diver Steel City Auto Wrecking in Youngstown. Most of the family lives in Canfield.
John ran 1960 to 1964 Fords when he was in the game. These days, the family has switched to '73 to '76 GMs, powered by Chevy engines and transmissions they save from year to year.
Bob said he's been using the same 350 Chevy power plant for 15 years.
"The older engines that smoke a lot are the best," he said.
To prepare their cars for the race this week, Jason and David stripped out the rear seats, trim, dashboard, and everything else that could burn. They removed all the glass, welded the doors shut, added a safety cage, new snow tires, and put a small gas tank where the rear seat used to be. The big V-8 engines vented exhaust through holes cut in the car's hoods.
David's car is a 1974 Impala Custom a friend picked up in North Carolina especially for demolition derby, its frame untouched by Ohio's rust. Jason's 1975 Cadillac Sedan DeVille came through the gate of the family wrecking yard.
Driving is key
But building a good car is in the back seat to driving when it comes to winning derbies, the Divers say. Rules call for drivers to crash into another car at least every minute, to remain in motion and to avoid hitting cars in the driver's side.
"Make your contact to stay in good with the officials, but save yourself until the finals," Bob Diver advises.
Demolition derbies are without question the most popular events at the fair, said Richard Roscoe, the Trumbull County Fair Board president.