Elise on top of her car at the fair last year. Of the hashtag on the hood she says, “I was a single mother working 60-plus hours a week. #MOMBOSS has been my empowering statement that I am strong, I am a good mother, and I can have a career as well.”

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been a slow summer for all of us — but especially slow for Elise Chase. Before social distancing became the norm, the Union Grove personal banker had hoped to drive in at least three demolition derbies this season.

“I was drawn to demo derbies because they are an adrenaline rush — but also, there are not too many female drivers that go into the shows,” she says. Though she had attended derbies and helped friends build cars, it wasn’t until last summer that she finally entered one, at Walworth County Fair in Elkhorn. “The car had to be bright pink, and it was.”

Elise talked to Shorelines about her rip-roaring hobby.

How did you get started with demolition derbies?
I started going to demo derbies when I was in high school. Living out in the county, it is not uncommon to drive your tractor, snowmobile, or big, lifted truck to school. I started to become more interested in derbies after I took a basic car care class, where I was one of the only girls and always volunteered my car so I could be hands-on, on my own vehicle. Then I was talking to my boyfriend about what we could do for our birthday together, which is on the same day, so we decided to buy and build our own demo team, instead of assisting our friends who are in derbies every year.

Elise with boyfriend Bobby and his car at the fair.

So you’ve been on these kinds of vehicles before.
I have been on snowmobiles and four-wheelers since I was a teenager. And my boyfriend raced motocross for 12 years, so we do these type of things together.

Is demo your favorite driving hobby?
I would say the demo derbies are the most work, yet also the most rewarding. You work so hard to make your car and hope it stays running and strong out there. Otherwise, I really like snowmobiling, which is funny because I hate the cold weather. But if you are dressed in the correct apparel, you will be more than warm.

Did you get scared driving in the derby last summer?
The idea of voluntarily getting into car accidents is kind of scary, and that is where the hard work of making your car safe and having the correct gear — like a helmet, long sleeves, jeans, and good shoes — come into play as well. I was more scared of breaking the glass out of the car than I was to smash up the car.

What’s it like to be a woman in what you’ve said is a very male-dominated activity?
At some of the bigger county fairs, they will have a powder-puff class that they will put us in, although the crowd seems to like it when a woman comes out one of the top drivers. Being that I am a woman, when I have told people that I had a car to demo, there have been times when no one could believe I was going to actually do it.