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Stoughton Demo Derby a “smashing” success

Engines roared as the Stoughton Demolition Derby got underway on Saturday, Aug. 12, as cars were revved up and let loose to crash into each other at the Demo Derby pit at the Stoughton fair grounds.

                Engines roared as the Stoughton Demolition Derby got underway on Saturday, Aug. 12, as cars were revved up and let loose to crash into each other at the Demo Derby pit at the Stoughton fair grounds.

                This year marked the eighth annual Demo Derby hosted by the local club. This year, although numbers were slightly down, there were nine cars participating, while five trucks took part in the truck derby.

                “It all went really well,” Demo Club President Corey Bacon explained. “We couldn’t do this without the help of everyone involved. Our sponsors are amazing, the Fire Department, the Ambulance, everyone who volunteers throughout the day, and just the general support of everyone who comes out to watch.”

                Action saw six cars make it to the final heat after making it through the preliminaries, but one car blew its drive shaft as it was entering the arena, which dropped the final heat to five cars. Despite losing a car before beginning the event was an exciting one as engines revved, smoke billowed, and big hits took place. One of the cars saw a few flames and those running the derby acted quickly by stopping action and putting the small flames out with a fire extinguisher. The fire truck was on hand in case the flames grew, but all was well and no one was injured.

                In the end the last two cars still running were Bryce Butler and Kevin Dodd. Butler’s car was damaged to the point he could only drive in reverse, so began moving around the arena adeptly backwards; but, Kevin Dodd rammed him for one final blow which took out Butler’s steering as well, which meant that Dodd – the defending champion of the Stoughton Demo Derby – held onto his title and earned first place.

                Throughout the day a truck derby was also hosted – it provided fun entertainment for the crowd, while allowing those in the car derby had an opportunity to fix their cars as best as they could before entering for the final heat.

                “They only get as long as the truck heat lasts to work on their cars,” Bacon said.

                The truck heat saw more great action, which included a last minute entry – a demolition truck was raffled off before the race and Mike Maas was given the opportunity to run in the heat. Maas, a member of the Demo Club, was one of the members who helped to build the truck and was excited about his name being drawn – he was even more excited that his raffle ticket then earned him $1,000 as he took home the first place trophy and prize money.