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 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] |
