Wreckers and crashers: the folklore of an Irish banger racing community

ABSTRACT Banger racing is an extreme form of car racing, wherein manoeuvres akin to crashing, ramming and spinning are essential features of the races as well as the overall performances. This study is an ethnologic exploration of the emergent folk culture generated by a small banger racing community located in the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. The racing cars, or bangers, are individually constructed and customized for each race, using an array of car parts found and appropriated by both racers and mechanics. Such distinct social conditions and cultural practices, and the group’s position as a distinctive subgroup within the Irish car enthusiast community, facilitate the creation of its own culture and folklore. While this study outlines aspects of the group’s indigenous vernacular culture, it focuses especially on the ways in which folklore yields distinctive meanings as well as enhancing feelings of both collective and individual identity.