The Lyon County Fair drew to an exciting close Saturday night as the grandstands filled with people anxious to see the demolition derby.
Spectators spilled out of the stands and surrounded the arena fence as drivers gathered for a meeting before the event to go over the rules regulating where they could or could not hit other drivers. The rules for the contest boiled down primarily to “If in doubt, back off.”
The event kicked off with a contest for the best paint job before the drivers entered the arena for the derby to begin in earnest. Dustin Wright won that competition.
After several heats leading up to a well-fought out championship round, there was a powder puff competition for the female drivers to compete.
One driver said he used to compete in a lot of derbies, but this was his first in four years. Jerrold Parker of Osage City, in a ’68 Lincoln painted black, came out the winner of the first heat.
“It feels great to win,” Parker said as he and some friends worked to get his battered car back in relatively good working condition so he could head back into the arena and continue the battle.
“This is my fifth derby with this car,” Parker said, adding that he spent about a week getting it ready for the fair. “It was pretty much almost done.”
Parker said competing in a demolition derby is a matter of having the right car and finding the right sponsors.
“Money and time,” he said. “Seriously, it you want to compete in the derby it takes a lot of money and time.”
Parker went on to compete in the main event against four other drivers, coming in third place overall. First place was Jason Dials of Pomona; second place was Jason Harsch of Lebo; fourth place was Adam Krause of Topeka and fifth place was Lamont Schmidt of Wichita.