 This event is a little different than what the big kids play in that
there are no losers. Everyone has a chance to play a game of redneck
bumper cars in a timed session.
Before waving the green flag on the event, a drawing was held by
Crash for a Cure, a demo team that is working to raise funds for the
Logan County Relay for Life. The drawing would give one youngster a
chance to drive a Power Wheels in the event.
Jaron Allen with the Crash for the Cure team brought out the bucket
of tickets and a youngster from the crowd was called on to draw the
winning number. When the number was announced, a young man named
Nate was the winner. When he was equipped with a safety helmet, Nate
took to the track to join in the fun.
New this year, each car had a large balloon taped to the front and
back bumper. The announcer explained that the kids were to work to
bust everyone’s balloons, including their own. Having broken
balloons, had no impact on the event, except that it added some
noise fun for the youngsters behind the wheel.
When the kids were given the signal to go, it was then several
minutes of watching and chuckling as the kids tore into each other,
the “pop, pop, pop” of balloons brought laughter from the kids as
well as the audience.
At the end of the timed session, each participant received a
souvenir checkered flag and a small monetary award.
The big kids play with the Bone Stock cars
During the Power Wheels event, the kids played on a dry track. But
for the big kids, the track was turned into a muddy mess, to make
the show all the more entertaining. The water on the track was
applied by the Atlanta Ag Center.
When the track was wet, the announcer asked everyone to stand as
local vocal artist Lesleigh Bennett sang the National Anthem.
Following her performance, the call was sent out for the Bone Stock
class to come to the track.
Also during this time, the name was drawn for the free ride in the
Crash for the Cure car that would be entered in the Compact Class.
Michelle Paulus, Miss Logan County Fair drew the name of Cody Leevey.
Cody came down from the grandstand and was escorted by Jaron Allen
to the pit area for his safety gear, and possibly a few tips on what
to expect on the track later in the evening.
This heat included at least two lady drivers, who both did very well
on Sunday night. Also in this class was well known local attorney
Jim Grimaldi in the .08 car. Grimaldi made a few good runs and hits
but went out early in the show. It was later reported, he will be
entering this same vehicle in several “Redneck” events at the
Illinois State Fair.
In total, there were 18 vehicles in this class, and the track was
full right from the start. With so many cars, there were often times
when the track looked like a rush hour gridlock, with no one able to
move. This led to a series of bumps and pushes, to get vehicles out
of the way so the top contenders could make their classic high speed
runs in reverse.
As the cars died on the track one-by-one, the area became much like
an obstacle course, and again, some with the nerve and know-how used
their own vehicles to push the stalled ones out of the way for those
high-speed runs.
When the event was over, there was a lot of carnage to be disposed
of from the track. The big fork lifts and bucket tractors came in
and made quick work of clearing the track for the next class.
The Compact Class; small cars make for big entertainment
As stated earlier; the Relay for Life Crash for the Cure car raffle
resulted in Cody Leevey winning an opportunity to drive a car built
by Brad Whiteman in the Compact Class. Leevey did a great job on the
track and was stopped only when his car died, and he was unable to
restart it.
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At the beginning of the heat, again there were approximately 18 or
19 vehicles on the track and gridlock followed on a few occasions.
With the smaller size of the cars versus the Bone Stock, there was a
little more “wiggle room” and drivers took advantage of it to the
fullest.
During the heat, the number 43 car was among the first to be knocked
out of the competition. While it is against the rules to hit a car
on the driver’s side door, there are no rules against pushing the
car until it meets an unmovable object. During the heat, the number
43 took a hard hit to the passenger side and the rear
simultaneously, pushing the car into the concrete barriers at the
front and against a second immovable object on the driver’s side.
The end result was the already small car became even smaller;
pancake fashion. With numerous safety features as well as helmets
and neck braces, the driver was unharmed, though he was also more
than willing to get out of the car and watch the rest of the show
from the sidelines when the officials threw the red flag.
Another red flag came out when a small fire broke out in the engine
compartment of the number 33 car. Both the city of Lincoln and the
Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District had trucks and personnel on
hand throughout the evening. The fire was quickly extinguished, and
after the smoke had cleared, literally, everyone continued to enjoy
the heat.
Semi-stock produces a small class for the bigger cars
The Semi Stock class at the Sunday evening Demolition Derby hosted
seven competitors, including Brad Whiteman with his Crash for the
Cure car. Whiteman had pledged that he would give proceeds from the
raffle of the Power Wheels, the Compact car ride, the sale of Crash
for the Cure apparel and his own winnings, if any, in the Semi Stock
class, to the Logan County Relay for Life.
Whiteman did not win his heat, but in the end, he did raise, and
donate more than $800 to Relay for life, and added a lot to the last
show of the evening.
This is the heat that, though smaller, seems to draw more enthusiasm
from the crowd. The grandstand on Sunday night was filled with derby
fans, and as this class got down to the wire at the end, fans could
not remain seated. They stood waving their arms and hollering, all
in support of one of the three final cars.
The final minutes of the heat were exciting, as at one point it came
down to all three cars being dead, and everyone waiting to see if
any of them would be able to “start their engines” one last time.
With only seven cars on the track, there was plenty of room for the
high-speed reverse runs that are the proven best method for putting
an opponent out of commission. This being the semi stock class,
these cars had a little more ‘juice' than the other two classes, so
those high-speed runs were very impressive.
This year the derby at the fairground began at 4 p.m. and wrapped up
a little past 7 p.m. Therefore, there was plenty of daylight from
start to finish. However, at the end of the last heat, long shadows
from the grandstand structure were interspersed with bright sunshine
creeping through the openings of the grandstand. It made the drive
challenging for the competitors as they sped through shadow and
sunlight, searching for their next targets.
After the battle of the ignitions, three cars were quickly reduced
to two, then one, and with that, the derby came to an end.
Before the crowd left the grandstands, several cash drawings took
place, including a 50-50 drawing to benefit the Lincoln Rural Fire
District. That drawing resulted in $435 being given away to one
lucky winner. There were a few other $100 drawings including an
entry that could be made as the result of purchasing a box seat on
Sunday evening. This year, there was also an entry form printed on
the back of the season parking tickets. Entries as a result, were
eligible for a cash drawing as well.
[Nila Smith] |
