Logan County Fair

Logan County Fair ends with a bang

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[August 08, 2018]  On Sunday evening the Logan County Fair came to an end with a bang…a BIG bang.

It was Demolition Derby night at the fair, and this year saw the largest turnout of cars seen in years, particularly in the Bone Stock Class, where 27 cars vied for a title.

Another record setting turnout was in the Power Wheels Class for kids, where 42 youngsters crashed and banged around the field for several minutes. The timed event ended with every participant receiving a checkered flag for their efforts.

This year in the Power Wheels, there were 14 Wild Card spots that were given away in a free drawing for all kids in the grandstand. Kids were invited to take a ticket free of charge and right before the show began 14 names were to be drawn.

As it would turn out there were 15 names drawn. As the selection of cars narrowed, it came down to a couple of cars with either pink wheels or purple wheels, and with color schemes that were a bit “girly.” When one youngster’s ticket was drawn, he came out to the track, but seeing that the selection was not to his taste he told the announcer he thought he would pass on the opportunity.

This year in the Bone Stock Class, two very familiar drivers returned to the field, Lincoln Mayor Seth Goodman and Lincoln attorney Jim Grimaldi.

Before the show began, Grimaldi hosted a raffle on the field. He said he would raffle off the passenger seat of his car with the proceeds divided equally between the Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District and the city of Lincoln Fire Department.

Grimaldi did a good job selling the raffle and when it came time for the drawing he announced that the total proceeds was $400. Half would be given to each of the departments. In addition, he said that if his car caught fire during the heat, the first department to pull him and his passenger out would get an additional $100 from Grimaldi personally. Fortunately, this year Grimaldi’s car did not catch fire, so that $100 did not get paid out.

When it came time to draw for the ride, the winner was Peyton Bennett, daughter of Christopher and Lesleigh Bennett of Lincoln. Peyton had arrived at the fair in open shoes, so Grimaldi called out to the audience for someone to lend her a pair of tennis shoes. The shoes were lent, and Peyton was fitted with a helmet, and ready to go along for the ride.

This year, a week or so before the fair, Lincoln Mayor Seth Goodman said he was going to sit it out this year, but hoped to be back behind the wheel in 2019. However, that changed after the Tuesday night Queen Pageant.

Kristy Weidhuner was First Runner up at the pageant. During the pageant, she revealed that she had a strong desire to participate in the demolition derby at the Logan County Fair. After the pageant, Kristy got a call from Mayor Goodman congratulating her on her First Runner Up finish at the pageant. They visited for a bit and talked about Kristy’s interest in the demo derby. That call ended, but soon Goodman placed another call to Kristy. He had decided that he would enter the derby this year after all, and he wanted to offer the passenger seat to Kristy.

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Kristy was excited to accept the offer, and climbed into the passenger seat on Sunday afternoon to ride along with the mayor. Early in the heat, a head on collision enacted the airbag in Goodman’s car. The announcer poked a little fun at the mayor for forgetting to disable the bag. Thinking it was over for the 62656 car, Kristy came out of the car. The fire department tended to the vehicle and checked out the mayor. He was good to go and so was his car, so he stayed in the heat.

At the next red flag, Kristy returned to the track and got back in the car with the mayor for the completion of the heat.

Both Peyton and Kristy had excellent rides with plenty of crashing and banging about the field. Both the Goodman and Grimaldi finished in the top ten. Between the two, Grimaldi went out first with about eight cars left in the game. When Goodman broke his stick, he was fifth, with only four cars left to battle to the end.

In the Modified Compact Class there were a couple of intense moments. In the melee it was hard to tell if the two incidents were connected, but they might have been. First one driver was injured; not seriously, but none-the-less. He came out of his car and sat down in front of the stage trailer. It appeared he had a cut on his arm. Logan County Paramedics were on the scene and examined him at the stage, then walked him back to the LCPA ambulance for further care.

Later in the heat, one competing car took a real beating from a couple of his opponents. Fans observing from the grandstand appeared to believe the attack on the car was coming close to being overkill. A flag was called on the two drivers, but then the victim car driver broke his stick and was out of the competition.

In the Semi Stock Class the battle between cars number 34 and the 24 became almost comical. It began with number 34 being pushed by 24 into the north end barriers. With his rear wheels off the ground and having a rear wheel drive car, the guy couldn’t move. The announcer polled the grandstand, should the driver be given a lift to get him back on the track? Amid big cheers, the large tractor at the end of the track gave the car a push and he was ready to roll again. He moved only a few feet when car 24 made contact and pushed him back into the barrier again. Again the 34 car got a little help and was on the track ready to roll, and here came good old number 24, smacking the car back into the barrier for a third time!

All in all, the Demolition Derby this year lasted about four hours and was jam packed with action. The crowds in the grandstands and track side certainly got their money’s worth this year. Kudos to those who drove their hearts out, including four lady drivers this year, and kudo’s to the organizers for growing this event, and making it one of the best Demo Derby’s we’ve seen at the Logan County Fair!


[Nila Smith]

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