The couple that crashes together
Some families go camping, some hit the theaters and some just sit all night together in front of the television. Tony and Melissa Adams have a different idea of family togetherness. They like to spend the night in the garage, welding and hammering on their demolition derby cars.
Tony is a lifelong Beech Grove resident and grew up going to demolition derbies with his father, Joe. He met Melissa in 1999, and they wed August 19, 2000. He was working as a union electrician and she was starting her accounting career.
In 2002, Tony was diagnosed with lymphoma and began chemotherapy. The treatment sent the cancer into remission, but Tony suffered a horrendous reaction to the program. The most severe complication was a condition known as osteonecrosis — his bones were dying.
Further therapy slowed the progression, but the damage was done. Adams was left with severely weakened bones and required a hip replacement. He had to quit his union job but found a sit-down position at the Wanamaker Gun Shop.
Most folks would have called it quits and begun collecting Scooter Store brochures. Not Tony and Melissa. The Adamses celebrated Tony’s fourth year in remission by launching their careers as demolition derby drivers. Tony summed up the jump, “We were fresh. It was something we always wanted to do, and we finally did it. I talked her into it. It was pretty easy to talk her into it.”
They picked up a pair of cars for $300 each and began stripping and modifying in their garage on Cherry Street. The neighbors and the Beech Grove Police Department suggested a change of location, and a new garage was found a bit further from civilization. Traveling to events and the Internet gave them lots of ideas for the “creative engineering and rules interpretation” that is an accepted part of the sport. Family and friends contributed time and tools, and after many weeks they made their debut at the Marion County Fair.
Melissa ran in the Friday show but the car was banned from the Saturday run. “Apparently I learned to cheat pretty good, but not good enough to get away with it,” Tony admits. The pair had to wait for the last day of the State Fair to finally hit the track together. The rookies would be taking on the best builders and drivers in Indiana, as well as a few travelers from Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois.
To be fair, it was not a bad showing. Tony got in a few hits before his ride was laid to rest in the first heat. Melissa takes credit for shedding a bumper which managed to take out a competitor’s transmission before her hopes ended fender-deep in a hill of sand. The Adamses are pleased and proud but looking for more.
