WAPAKONETA — A packed grandstand watched as drivers from Wapak and all over the region gathered to crash their specially made vehicles together fighting for a little cash and a ton of bragging rights at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Auglaize County Fair.
Joe Spicer, of Wapakoneta, said it was his first night participating in a demolition derby
“My stepson is doing it,” he said. “I decided I didn’t want him to do it without me. I wanted to have fun, too.”
It took two days to put his car together, he said. There are special rules for creating a demolition derby car, Spicer explained. You have to take out all of the vehicle’s glass.
“Then you have to wire it up,” He said. “Then you have to make sure it will run.”
Thomas Karbowiak, born and raised in Wapak but now living in Russells Point, has driven in a few demolition derbies since he was a teenager, he said. The cost of making a car depends on the class of car you want to make, he explained. Costs range from $500-$1,000.
“All the local fairs have their thing, and then there’s the next tier. It’s like college ball and pro ball,” he said. “It’s like playing in an exhibition game and then you come to play game.”
Dakota Mongold, 15, of Wapakoneta, is a friend of Karbowiak. This was his second year driving in the Auglaize County Fair Demolition Derby event. He said, he drives because it’s something fun to do. He was also born into it.
“He’s second generation,” Karbowiak said. “Your dad was doing it since before you were born.”
“It’s an adrenaline rush,” he explained why he enjoyed participating. “It’s pretty crazy is what it is,” he added with a smile.
The demolition derby began with the Power Wheel class, which is young children having their own demolition derby with child size vehicle run by 18-volt batteries, created by their parents. The announcer commented that they were the next generation of demolition drivers.
After the children were finished, Mini Cars were next. The cars were painted different colors and designs painted on them. Car 55A, belonging to Michael Winter, of Lima, was painted black with a silver dire wolf head, the symbol of House Stark from “Game of Thrones” painted on the side of his car.
“It’s a gentlemen’s sport,” said Karbowiak of the rules for demolition derbies.
This was evident when it was down to just Winter and Doug Lewis, of Urbana. The two drivers were locked together front bumper to bumper, giving their cars all the gas they could but neither driver getting the better of the other. The two signaled each other and split apart. They went back to chasing each other around the track until Lewis finally got the better of Winter, taking first place.
Street stock cars were so plentiful they were broken up into three heats so the drivers had a better chance to win some money.
“You can relieve a lot of stress hitting other cars,” said Brian Green, of Wapakoneta, about why he enjoys driving in demolition derbies. “Men like to tear stuff up.”
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