LIMA — The demolition derby got off to a late and wet start Saturday night but the crowd didn’t care at all.
Some were wet, some were even soaked, but all were happy watching cars and trucks smash into each other.
Penny Gardner was with Charles Cook watching as the rain blew on them.
“We have been here the last four years,” Gardner said.
Cook said he likes watching the derby in the rain.
“It’s better. They wet down the track to begin with,” he said. “We’re staying till it’s over.”
Plus, it’s still a derby and the reason Cook likes derbies remains the same.
“Smash them and crash them,” he said.
Tony Rowe, of Van Wert, was at his first derby in a few years.
“Our company picnic was here. We had free passes so we came,” he said.
Rowe was hoping to be in the stands near the track but had to move to the covered grandstand to get out of the rain. It was his first demolition derby in the rain.
“They don’t have a lot of traction. I know they want to get full speed to hit the next person. Instead of trying to take off with the pedal to the floor and doing all that peal out, they should start out gradually until they get momentum and then put the pedal to the floor,” Rowe said.
Rowe and his girlfriend, Jamie Fuerst, left their umbrellas behind.
“We should have brought our umbrellas. We know better,” he said.
Fuerst said she’s been to a number of derbies. Her brother participated in the events for years, she said.
“It’s pretty interesting. Muddy, dirty, exciting,” Fuerst said. “They were not getting good traction on the tires.”
Fair Manager Bob Fricke said the track was starting to dry out after the first heat class, full-size pickups, competed, when the rain stopped. Event organizers normally wet down the track to keep the dust down but will not have to do that, he said.
Drivers competed for up to $1,500 in prize money in four divisions.
Fricke said the derby was going to run regardless of the rain. Only high winds or lightning would have postponed it.
“We knew derby fans didn’t care about the rain. We knew the diehard fans would be out here,” Fricke said.
One of those fans was Amberly Adkins, of Gomer. She was at the derby with her 7-year-old daughter to watch her boyfriend in the mid-size truck division.
“He does pretty well,” Adkins said. “He has fun building cars all year long.”
Adkins said she was going to stay no matter how hard it rained.
“I just enjoy but it’s fun supporting him, too,” she said.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
