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In the grown up cars there was an excellent
turnout of competitors with 16 cars in the Compact class and 25 cars
in the Full Size Bone Stock class.
There were only five cars that qualified to participate in the Super
Stock. Two cars came to the line, but were turned away because they
had arrived late.
The grand stand was filled for the demo derby as guests gathered to
holler and cheer for their favorite drives in each class.
Power Wheels
This year the youth class consisted of about 30 participants. There
were a number of children who had brought their own vehicles and
safety equipment.
The field was made all the larger when 20 lucky kids from the
grandstand won the drawing to come out and drive a vehicle provided
by Hemi Power Wheels.
In this class everyone comes out a winner. Kids were permitted to
crash and bang for a total of 10 minutes. When they were finished
each one of the drivers received a checker flag for their
participation.
Compacts
There were 16 cars in the Compact class this year including veteran
competitor Vienna Kodatt; who was driving a vehicle sponsored by
candidate for Logan County Circuit Clerk Kelly Elias.
Kodatt, as usual did a great job in the field, and was in the final
four when her car gave out.
The winner of the class was an orange car called 04 Maddog. The
Maddog was a tough competitor and garnered the loud cheers when he
exited his vehicle.
The first car knocked out was the number 96, who lasted only a few
minutes into the show. However, the driver was required to stay in
the car until the end of the competition His car died in a prime
spot near the center of the track and he ended up taking several
wild rides courtesy of the other competitors. Time and time again he
was hit and shoved, moving him several yards from his original
ending point.
Full Size Bone Stock
In the Full Size Bone Stock 25 cars entered the official demo area,
but one, the number 41 died on the way in, stopping in the middle of
the track. The driver tried countless times to get the car
restarted, and even got it to run for a minute or so a couple of
times. When the crash and bang was ready to start the announcer
asked the driver if he wanted to stay in and try to get the car
rolling. Under demolition rules, a car that dies or becomes immobile
is put on a time and has only a few minutes to get rolling again.
The driver of the 41 opted to leave the track instead of being a
sitting duck in the middle of the field.
Lincoln Mayor Seth Goodman was driving the number 217 in the Full
Size class. Goodman had given away a ride-along via social media and
the lucky winner was Missy Helton.
Goodman and Helton made it onto the track and ran for a few minutes.
The car died, and according to Goodman, there was an issue with the
battery connection and he could not get the car to re-fire. He and
Missy were at the far end of the track when this occurred. They were
hit a couple of times, but for the most part were just left to sit
and watch the show close-up.
This competition was red flagged once, about mid-way through as a
large pile up of cars appeared to have at least one that was on
fire. The Lincoln Rural Firefighters headed out on the track and
checked each one of the cars and found no fire. A few minutes later
the crash and bang resumed.
This competition saw a lot of mangled cars by the end of the heat.
For many that started out on the track as a full sized vehicle, they
were reduced to something even smaller than the compact cars that
had been on the track earlier.
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One fun part for the crowd taking in this heat was the dilemma faced
by the numbers 12 and 825. While both were running and ready to
compete, about halfway through the heat they found themselves
trapped on the north end of the track by disabled cars. Both worked
desperately to push and shove the cars so as to make an exit point
for themselves. The number 12 car was the first to get the job done
to the roar of the crowd in the grandstand.
The winner of this heat was the number 17 car that by the end of the
show was almost completely missing the back half of his car.
Logan County Royalty – Queen Sky Kretzinger, Junior Miss Anna
Kindred and Little Miss Jolie Grisham - was super busy on Sunday
afternoon with the 4-H Livestock, as well as the Cake Classic
Auctions. The three ladies did not make it to the demo derby until
late in this class. They joined the guests in the grandstand and
watched for a bit while also visiting with the many folks there who
wanted a chance to congratulate them on their wins from last Tuesday
night.
Super Stock
In this class the real drama of the evening started before the heat.
Five cars came to the entry line, then two additional cars. As each
car and driver was introduced, the cars were driven into the demo
area. As car five was getting ready to enter, the large forklift
tractor used to haul away wreckage moved to block the last two cars.
Members of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office went out and spoke to
the drivers. Both were turned away.
Very unhappy about being disqualified, the two left the entry area
kicking up a large cloud of dust on their way back to the car
haulers. The announcer would later explain that the deadline for
registering for the heat was 2 p.m. The two drivers had arrived
late. He said rules were rules, and the drivers had to be
disqualified.
With only five cars on the track the final heat of the night lacked
some of the excitement of the other two classes.
What was fun to watch was the fight to the finish between the
numbers 19 and 04Maddog cars.
The first three cars were eliminated pretty quickly. Then it was a
'dog fight' to the finish for the 19 and 04. There were times when
the two cars reminded one of boxers in a ring, circling each other,
sizing each other up, and trying to determine where to deliver that
knock-out blow.
However, in the end, it was a quiet track that determined the
winner. At the exact same time, both car engines died. The crowd
roared. What now? The announcer urged each one to get their car
started saying the first to start would be the winner of the heat.
Inside the cars, one could see both drivers trying hard to get the
engines to roll over. In the end it was Maddog who got there first,
and was immediately declared the winner.
Some may have noticed that the 04 Maddog car sounded familiar from a
previous heat. It is true. Maddog had two dogs in the fight, a small
orange car in the Compacts and a beefed up full size car in the
Super Stock.
With the car started and the win declared, Maddog shut it down and
crawled out of the car where other drivers and friends congratulated
him on the double wins of the night.
Immediately following the heat, a 50-50 drawing was held with the
proceeds benefiting the Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District. And
with that the show was over for another year, and for the most part
so was the fair.
Carnival rides and food vendors would continue on into the evening,
but for many fairgoers the end of the demo derby meant a fond
farewell to the Logan County Fair... until next year.
[Nila Smith] |
