Tuesday evening brought the always-popular demolition derby. If you’re not familiar with demolition derbies, here’s how they work: a bunch of old cars smash into each other until only one can move. It’s a thoroughly entertaining spectacle.

Tuesday’s derby had notable spectators: Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos from the Cooking Channel show Extra Virgin. They spent the summer traveling around America for a new show called Extra Virgin Americana, and as part of their stop in Detroit they visited Chelsea to check out the demolition derby. (Making a sport out of destroying old worn-out cars does seem pretty American. It’s also lots of fun to watch!) Here’s a cameraman filming the action.

There are plenty of ways cars can get knocked out of the derby. The engine can die, the drivetrain (or some other crucial part) can fail, a whole wheel can fall off…or a back bumper can get pushed down and lift your drive wheels off the ground. It’s hard to move when your wheels aren’t on the ground.

There are enough safety precautions in place that fires seldom happen, but every once in a while a car decides to light up. (Those safety precautions ensure that even when there are fires, they’re always very minor and no one gets hurt. But they do look good in photos!)

The driver exited his vehicle with great haste, and the firefighters had the fire out within a minute or two.

Sometimes cars get hooked together on impact:

Those two locked up and couldn’t pull apart no matter how hard they tried.

The Tuesday derby has a round featuring pickup trucks.

When a radiator blows, everyone knows it.