WALTON - Michael Beers II followed in his father, Michael Beers Sr.’s footsteps and has dedicated more than 12 years to stripping, building, and smashing derby cars around the state. Beers, 27, began competing in demolition derby when he was 15 years old. “It was easier back then, more casual,” Beers said. His brother, Dawson, competes as well. Their father has since retired from derbies but taught the two everything they know, Beers said. The brothers have finished in first and second place for the last two years at the Delaware County Fair. Beers has taken first place in at least 10 derbies, he announced proudly.
“Oh, my brother is a riot on the track,” Beers said with a smile, “I remember him throwing his sunglasses to a buddy on the side because they fell off his face, but sometimes having him in the garage is a lot.” The two brothers and their father are well-known at the Delaware County Fair derby. Beers said the Delaware County Fair hosts one of the biggest derby crowds, “You can hear them cheering if you have a good shot or something, and that’s awesome, but I really love the ‘boos,’” Beers said. When the Beers brothers were younger, they staged car failure from a hit by their dad, when the three of them were the only ones left on the track. They let their father go on without much of a fight. When he boys stepped out of their cars, Beers said it seemed like the entire audience was booing them, “and I loved it!”
When there is not snow on the ground, Beers spends three to five hours a day getting his cars ready for derby, he said. Sometimes he gets lost in the work and will work eight or nine hours. Getting a derby car stripped and equipped with the necessary safety features, like a roll cage, takes time, Beers said. Beers competes in several derbies a year, and spends his summers inside the garage.
With a fiancée and two boys of his own at home, those long days take a toll, he said. “When they were little I missed out on a lot, but now that they’re getting a little bigger, they love being in here with me.” Beers and his fiancée, Hannah Carman, have two boys, Tristan and Michael, and dread what a future in derbying has in store for the family. Tristan, 3, the oldest, said he loves watching his dad derby. “I hope they don’t get into it when they get older,” Beers and Carman agreed, laughing, “It’s so damn expensive.” Though, the boys both love helping dad, and have been known to nap during the noisy event, Carman and Beers both see derby careers for the boys. “We’ll have to get him a power wheel car for the power wheel derbies,” Carman said about Tristan.
Beers said that Carman is always supportive of his dedication to derby. “I love it for him, and I love that he loves it,” Carman said, “but it takes up all his time and it is so expensive!” Beers said he has spent over $20,000 this year alone buying cars, parts, fuel, travel and registry fees. Fuel is at $15 a gallon, according to Beers, but sponsorships really help ease the costs. Beers is sponsored by Mike Giannicchi from Catskill Heritage Construction, Shannon McCall from McCall’s Lawn Care, and Jeremy Gulley with Gulley’s Excavating and Spinning Wheels Productions, who sponsored a set of stacks for Beers. “You see sponsorships for everything but never derbies, so I put it out there I was looking for sponsors, and it paid off,” Beers said.
Beers predominately runs in the long car class. He will run an old model Ford Edsel at the Delaware County Fair this year; his car can be spotted by its eye-catching paint job by Brian Mullineaux or his brother, Jamie Mullineaux.
Beers competed Saturday, July 23 in the Lewis County Fair “Spinning Wheels” show where he took sixth in the long car class.
Beers will compete in six other derbies this season, in and outside of Delaware County, including the Delaware County Fair with his brother.
