Demoliton races a big draw in Nebraska
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BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
The story Josh Turner tells about his first experience driving in a demolition derby lasts almost as long as he did on the track that summer night 11 years ago.
“I made one hit, then took two a row, and that was it,” the 28-year-old truck mechanic from Geneva said. “I bet I didn’t run for three minutes out there … probably should have quit right then.”
Turner then releases an evil chuckle, realizing a lot of guys whose cars he’s debilitated over the years wish he had.
You might think demo derbies originated when someone thought a lot of good-timers needed a project while they sucked down a cold beverage. And that might not be too far from the truth.
But around these parts, with the stakes worth a lot more than a favorite 12-pack, the demolition game can be cutthroat.
“Some guys go for fun, and you’ve got to have those guys,” Turner said. “We try to run hard — and we’re not liked very much, too.”
Turner and his 26-year-old brother, Shad, are well-known on the Nebraska demo derby circuit. In their Geneva shop, anywhere from 50 to 60 cars sit in some stage of derby readiness.
Last season, Josh Turner ran 15 derbies and his brother 14. Between them, they ended up scrapping 17 cars.
Of course, they also took their fair share of victims — and plan on doing so again as the 2008 derby season moves into full swing during July and August.
“We call ourselves ‘The Undertakers,’ and our slogan is ‘RIP,’” said Josh, who in late May collected $4,000 for finishing second at a derby in Winterset, Iowa.
Yep, four grand for being the next-to-last car running. The winner got double that amount.
In Nebraska, most demo derby events are put on by Wayne Johnson, a 43-year-old mechanic from Hooper who also heads up Dodge County’s chapter of Pheasants Forever.
About five years ago, Johnson spent $350 to purchase the Demo Driver’s Officiating Team. That outfit pays dues and registration fees to secure events, many of which are at county fairs, sets competition rules and enforces them.
Two big points of emphasis during demos: no sandbagging (avoiding contact), and no driver’s-side door hits.
“We make sure they know safety is a big thing … and that they’re there to put on a show,” Johnson said.
Although the cost of fuel has affected car counts, most demo derby fields around Southeast Nebraska draw 25 to 40 entrants. Drivers try to advance from heats into features that can be worth up to $1,500 to the winner.
Johnson’s group has run just three competitions this season, but has another 26 scheduled, mostly in Nebraska, during the next two months.
Two of the derbies that draw the biggest crowds are at the Sarpy County Fair in Springfield on Aug. 3 and the Seward County Fair in Seward on Aug. 10.
“If you don’t have an advance ticket (for Sarpy County), you will not get in,” Johnson said of the 3,500-seat site.
Seward draws around 4,000 people for its demo derby.
“It’s more or less an adrenaline rush,” said Cody Koranda, a 19-year-old derby competitor from Seward.
Like Josh Turner, Koranda’s debut was a humbling experience.
At an event in Linn, Kan., five years ago, he actually feared the sport’s nature: contact.
“Things have changed,” said Koranda, who recently was second in a truck demo derby at I-80 Speedway and plans on running about a dozen events this summer.
After all, he’s spending, on average, around $650 per car (not including motor and transmission), and to break even usually needs a top-three finish.
So bring on the bumps and bruises.
“Most of the time,” Koranda said, “you’re going to have some pain.”
That fact had Turner recalling a time when his car got rolled.
“That’ll turn your stomach,” he said.
His real pain, though, came from the realization that he was out of the event.
“Back around 2000, I had a year where I got thumped,” Turner said. “I’d spent a lot of money and got beat a lot and I’m shaking my head going, ‘Boy, some day we’re going to quit this.’”
It was a fleeting thought.
“Derbying,” Turner offered, “is like an addiction.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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