A smashing success again

If you like loud noises, crashing objects and mud flying all over the place, then the annual Jaycees Demolition Derby was the fair event for you.

On Saturday night, in front of a packed house inside the arena at the Great Northern Fairgounds, fans yelled and cheered for over three hours as derby cars raced, crashed and smashed into each other to see who was the best and to determine which car would be left standing in the end.

When it was all said and done, the driver of the car that withstood the punishment the best was Walt Powell, who took home first place and the big pot of prize money that comes with it. Despite falling just short of victory, Mariah Haas put together an outstanding run and finished second to Powell, while demolition derby veteran Ryan Erickson managed to finish third.

Before the championship round in the demolition derby, there were qualifying heats in order to advance and they were won by a number of different competitors, including Austin Moore and Johnny Austin, who won the first heat, Haas and Garrett Powell, who won the second heat as well as Caleb McLain and Chris Haider, who were the winners of the third heat.

The winners of the consolation heats were Jacob Holden and Erickson, while other prizes such as best paint went to Haas, while most aggressive driver went to Erickson and the winner of the calcuttta ended up being Braden Hammond.

Unfortunately, this year there was no herby derby due to the fact that no herby cars signed up to compete. However, the Bump and Run races were held again this year and before the demolition derby kicked off. The races proved once again to be exciting.

In the stock version of the Bump and Run, Chase Gerer finished in the top spot, followed by Randy Christofferson, who finished in second and Grace Williams, who was third. And in the modified version of the race, it was Dustin McKinney, who took home first place honors. Seth Hamilton finished second and Luke Brown wound up third.