There’s a method to Phil Gordon’s madness.

Over the past three years, the Carbondale resident has competed in more than 15 lawnmower demolition derbies, a variation on the more traditional automobile-based motorsport. Sure, there’s a lot of smashing, smoke, flying mud and general chaos involved, Gordon admits, but the sport is deceptively strategic.

Bobbie Brandenburg leaps from his lawn mower after being flagged out by an official during the Mow Bashers mower derby, held Saturday evening at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.

He described his game plan Saturday evening as a “bounce between offense and defense,” or protecting his mower’s rear end while trying to knock out opponents’ spark plugs, belts and transaxles.

“It’s like rugby,” Gordon said before riding his 1986 Craftsman GT3 into the Douglas County Fairgrounds’ outdoor arena. “There’s way more tactics than it looks like, but it’s still brutal.”

Gordon, 37, was one of 18 competitors at the fair’s inaugural “Mowbashers” derby Saturday night. About 300 spectators packed the stands to watch riders ages 10 and older crash into each other atop riding lawnmowers.

Though medics were on hand throughout the evening, event organizer Dave Brandenburg said riders underwent extra precautions. Mower blades were removed, leg guards were installed and spark plugs were replaced, among other alterations.

Brad Robb looks to mow over the competition as he competes in the Mow Bashers mower derby, held Saturday evening at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.

With his trusty mower at his side, Gordon felt cool, calm and collected before the beginning of his heat. Three years ago, over the span of a few weekends, Gordon and his employees at the custom paint shop he owns worked to overhaul the machine for competition.

With its bright-green paint job and the word “Grasshopper” emblazoned on its side, the mower looked like pretty fierce competition.

Still, even “Grasshopper” has its limits, Gordon said.

“You get hit by 800 pounds at 30 miles an hour — it hurts,” he said. “They’re still lawnmowers. They were never built to do this.”

Up in the stands, 9-year-old Raven Romine watched the action unfold. His father, George, and his father’s girlfriend, Mollie Seiff, took him to the derby as a birthday present.

After the smoke cleared at the end of the evening’s first heat, Raven said he might like to enter the competition someday.

“Maybe by your next birthday,” Mollie told him.