CHARLOTTE, N.C. – October 25, 2011 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Whether acting, competing in sports, executing complicated Hollywood stunts or simply experiencing life, Vanessa Vander Pluym’s ever-growing skillset is not by happenstance, but by design. Co-host of the new SPEED show Stuntbusters (premieres Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. ET), Vander Pluym brings several of her talents to the new prime time program, admitting to an attraction to things that scare her a little bit.

“When I was young, I was very shy,” Vander Pluym said. “I was afraid of everything … heights, conversation, dancing in front of people. In overcoming those fears, I’ve developed a rule to live by — a little afraid, do it … a lot afraid, there’s a reason, don’t do it.”

For Stuntbusters (BASE Productions), Vander Pluym works with co-host Garrett Hammond to explore and explode motoring myths, revealing the facts and figures behind the latest, fastest and hottest automotive stunt technology. Each experiment is captured at one thousand frames per second; allowing viewers to witness the physics behind the vehicular mayhem.

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Bandages? The occasional shiny dab of ointment? A sling here and there?

These are not uncommon sights at the Doll Factory, thanks to the fact that the Derby Dolls are famed for some rough-and-tumble, no-holds-barred skating. If you've ever seen a clutch of blockers attempting to thwart a jammer's best get-through efforts, you know the occasional elbow or knee can make hard contact.

Which is one reason the Derby Dolls care about keeping the body on the up-and-up. The other reason? They're nice. Super nice. So nice they're once again hosting their annual free health fair on Saturday, Aug. 27.

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The offbeat bride: Robin (aka Suzy Snakeyes), Administrative Assistant in the fitness industry and blocker for the Tough Cookies

Her offbeat partner: Michael (aka Mike Snakeyes), Advertising Account Manager and L.A. Derby Dolls statistician

Date and location of wedding: Doll Factory, venue for the L.A. Derby Dolls roller derby league — September 4, 2010

What made our wedding offbeat: Michael and I met through the L.A. Derby Dolls roller derby league (through a mutual friend who used to skate with the league), so our relationship was born in roller derby. He proposed to me at halftime during a roller derby game I was playing. (Click here to see a video of the proposal!) So it made perfect sense for us to get married at the same place where we got engaged — on the roller derby track! It also helped that, as a couple working on a tight budget, I was able to use my connections as a long-time skater with the league to get the venue for free!

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With the Lakers out and the local baseball teams hovering around .500, why not try something different to get your So Cal sports fix? The Roller Derby is alive and well here in Los Angeles with the LA Derby Dolls. A photo from the Fight Crew vs. Varsity Brawlers on the banked track of the L.A. Derby Dolls' Doll Factory in Los Angeles, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 13, 2010. (Marc Campos, L.A. Derby Dolls)

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — When she looks out across a banked wooden track where a couple dozen girls in crash helmets and roller skates are pushing, shoving, slipping and falling, Rebecca Ninburg sees a lot more than just kids having a raucous good time.

"That's the future right there. That's the next generation," says Ninburg, better known in the roller derby world as Demolicious, co-founder of the Los Angeles Derby Dolls skating league.

As if to make her point, 8-year-old Little RegulateHer, one of the stars of the Junior Derby Dolls, bursts out of the pack and, in a scene worthy of the film "Whip It," goes on to lap every other skater on the track.

After jamming her way past her much bigger opponents for five quick points ("I'm little so they don't see me coming," she explains later), the 4-foot-6-inch whirlwind stumbles, takes a hard face-first fall, gets back up and goes around again.

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Forget everything you thought you knew about roller derby. This is not the sports entertainment version that was televised in the '70s and '80s with predetermined winners. The only proof you need is holding crutches and screaming from the bench on this April Saturday night. A skater named Lace N' Arsenic of the Varsity Brawlers broke her ankle on the track and has four inches of surgical stitches and a walking boot to show for it.

Roller derby leagues played on banked tracks -- as opposed to a more tame version on flat surfaces -- are sprouting up everywhere. Eleven are currently in use nationwide and five more are in development, including one in Brazil. And the crowds are coming out in droves, thrilled by fearless women with clever handles and impressive skills.

These ladies take roller derby very seriously. They practice four or five nights a week. "My life feels like it centers around this sport," says Skatum O'Neal of the Tough Cookies, who just kicked off their title defense in the L.A. Derby Dolls league. More than 150 skaters and volunteers, spread over five teams, make up the league. The only pay is bragging rights. The Dolls do it for the love of the sport. And for the fans.

The L.A. Derby Dolls were founded in 2003 and are currently in their third home, expanding each time to accommodate a quickly growing fan base. They now skate in a 50,000 square foot former ice cream cone factory in Historic Filipinotown, not far from Downtown Los Angeles. It holds nearly 2,000 screaming fans, and it sells out pretty much every game.

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