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Stevie Mercer Excited About Chances in Winning Annual Demolition Derby, $1,500 Prize

Stevie Mercer Excited About Chances in Winning Annual Demolition Derby, $1,500 Prize

 

 

By Chuck Corder 

Brothers share almost everything with each other. 

From their hopes and dreams to family scuttlebutt to adventures, their bond defines a lifetime. 

Sometimes, though, those adventures aren’t for the faint of heart. Occasionally, there might be a small amount of danger attached to them. Those moments are where the older brother sees a perfect opportunity to get one over on the younger sibling.  

That’s how Stevie Mercer discovered he would be competing in the annual Michels and Booth Demolition Derby at Five Flags Speedway this Friday night. The 55-year-old Mercer was voluntold by older brother and former Snowball Derby champion Eddie Mercer, 62. 

“This was a surprise,â€? Stevie Mercer said. “My brother (Eddie) and I were talking awhile back, and he kinda casually told me, ‘Oh yeah, you’re gonna be in the Demolition Derby in about three or four weeks.’ I said, ‘OK,’ and that’s how I found out.  

“I guess I was on a need-to-know basis because all of the racing crew knew about it but me. That’s all right, though. I’ll do ’em good because they ain’t getting in the car.â€? 

While a bit startled, Stevie Mercer is eager to twist some metal at the famed half-mile asphalt oval come Friday.  

Mercer will be in a 2005 Crown Victoria on Friday and is expecting a large number of cars to beat, bang, crunch, and crumple their way toward a winner-take-all prize of $1,500 to close Friday night at Pensacola’s high banks. 

“I’m just hoping I’m there at the end,â€? he said. “I hope we tear up some metal and the crowd loves it. Every Derby I’ve seen has been that way.â€? 

Gates open at 5 p.m. Friday with racing slated for at 8 when the Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks (30 laps) kick things off. The Faith Chapel Outlaws will have its biggest feature of the season, racing 50 laps with the winner walking away with $2,500. 

The WCIparts.com Pro Trucks (30 laps) round out the local division schedule Friday and will make way for the Demo Derby on a busy night where admission is just $5 for fans of all ages and free for children ages 11 and under. 

Stevie Mercer, who serves as shop manager at Eddie Mercer Automotive and BuggyWorx, hasn’t competed in a Demo Derby in recent years, but did fair pretty well during a few back in the 1990s at Five Flags. 

A former The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen driver, Mercer is the two-time-defending champion of the Sweat Hog Grand Prix, a road-course event at Five Flags each winter before the short-track season kicks off. The Sweat Hog races feature four-cylinder, four-wheeled-drive Pure Stocks. 

“I haven’t had that much fun in a while racing,� Mercer said of his Sweat Hog victories.

“I got lucky on the car I picked. It’s a Mitsubishi Lancer, and it’s exactly what you’d want for a road course. But, for a Demo Derby, it’d be turned into a football pretty quickly.â€? 

 

Instead, Mercer will drive a mid-2000s Ford LTD Crown Victoria, a tank of a car that will have a suicide ball on the steering wheel and a Hulu girl on his dashboard and one Mercer believes can get him the win and the cash.  

“It doesn’t have a dent on it,â€? he said. “It is as smooth as any car in my lot. It won’t be that way Friday night. It’s ready to crash.â€? 

From the paint scheme to its stickers, Mercer’s Demo Derby ride will look almost identical to young Jake Finch’s No. 51 Outlaws car. That’s not by coincidence. Stevie Mercer is a crewman for Finch’s car while Eddie Mercer serves as the teenager’s coach and mentor. 

“I’m going to be a busy little joker, running around the track,â€? Stevie Mercer said. “It’s not a big deal, though. I’ll have plenty of help.â€? 

He is certainly confident about his chances in the night’s finale. With a car tailor-made for a Demo Derby, Stevie Mercer has a strategy he hopes nets him a cool $1,500. 

“One thing you’ve gotta do is not get pinned in,� he said. “I’m gonna try and keep it in reverse as much as I can to keep the nose clean. It’s impossible, but that’s goal.

“It’s a chess game. Pick your next move and keep your head on a swivel. You’re looking to hit one car and another’s coming at you. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed, do the best I can, and try not to get hit too much.â€? 

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