Metal crunches, engines scream, and spectators roar. This demolition derby is a high-octane answer to rugby league's State of Origin in regional Queensland. It could also be helping with the sport's growth and official recognition by Australia's governing motorsport body. The second running of the event at Toowoomba Speedway last month saw New South Wales make up for last year's loss, using lighter and faster cars to outmanoeuvre and destroy Queensland's heavy-hitting vans and utes. The original 2024 competition was meant to be a one-off sideshow to run alongside racing events. But when Mr Harris saw 4,000 fans all experience the same sense of nostalgia he did for demolition derbies, he knew the series had to be extended. "It's about growing our audience, and we had a lot of first-time visitors [for game two]," he said. The Queensland captain, Toowoomba's Ken Iseppi, said it was good to see demolition derby taken seriously in his hometown. "Toowoomba is pretty well the pinnacle of [demolition derbies] in Queensland," Mr Iseppi said. "There's money involved, and now that we've got [teams] in demolition derby, it's well and truly up there." National recognition Demolition derby debuted in Australia in 1964 in Adelaide when Rowley Park venue manager Kym Bonython organised a 70-car event, overloading stands with more than 20,000 spectators and forcing police to block entry. Despite the initial success, demolition derby was often seen as gimmick entertainment held at community shows or alongside speedway racing. According to the Australian Demolition Derby Association (ADDA) vice-chair Shane Ryan, demolition derby has always had professional drivers. In May 2024, Mr Ryan founded the ADDA to help to draw more attention to about 500 professionally recognised drivers. "They weld specific spots to make the car go better, they know how to rewire an entire motor so that it doesn't stop after one hit." The ADDA hosts about 100 demolition derbies around the country each year, with its own rules and regulations for venues, cars and drivers. The organisation is now working with Motorsport Australia to be recognised as a governing body. Mr Ryan said even one-off professional derbies can bring in up to $100,000 to local economies. "We usually get between 2,000 to 4,000 [spectators], but larger events can be between 5,000 to 10,000," he said. "Most agricultural shows survive off the demolition derby. They don't have a massive array of other items that will draw the same attention." Smashing future The Toowoomba Speedway will host DerbyMania in July, the first time a demolition derby will be the main show at a Speedway event, with 100 cars already registered. Mr Ryan said he planned to continue pushing professional demolition derby with the ADDA looking to set the world record for the most cars in a derby. "State of Origin will be coming up again next year, then we'll be looking at doing the world record," he said. The current world record sits at 125 cars, set in Canada in 2019.