Demo Derby at the Fair: Stress relief and camaraderie
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BY MICAH MERTES / Lincoln Journal Star
It was his first time driving in a demolition derby.
And the veterans weren’t going to take it easy on 16-year-old Andrew Lewis of Martell.
His silver ’71 Impala looked like a Coors Light can chewed on by rabid dogs by the time the other cars had finished slamming him up against the embankment.
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The drivers of the Lancaster County Fair Demolition Derby talk about what draws them to the event. (Micah Mertes/JournalStar.com)...
“The worst was when it got up on two wheels,” Lewis said. “That one hurt. That one laid me over the seat. But I don’t remember half the hits.”
His car stayed stuck there until after the battle was over. But somehow, Lewis drove the mangled metal out of the arena.
The audience screamed out in applause.
“I can’t believe it drove out of the track,” he said. “It was pretty cool. I think that was more fun than winning.”
Hundreds packed the stands at the Lancaster County Fair Demolition Derby on Thursday night to attend one of the few spectator sports in which people pay to get mud flung in their faces.
The event brought drivers from all realms of experience: from the teenage rookie to the seasoned veteran.
Some guys have been doing this for a quarter century.
Like Monte Stava, 42, of Staplehurst, who’s been derby-ing since he was in his teens. He said he’s run in thousands of contests.
And though you’d think a sport in which you’re supposed to destroy your opponent would be, well, hazardous to your health, Stava said he’s never been injured, never broken a single bone, never had any stitches.
You build a safe car, he said, you run a safe car.
But Stava had to quit a few years back after he was diagnosed with cancer. In ’99, they told him he only had six months to live, “but I’m still here so I must be doing something right.”
He’s a few years back into it. And he’s not quitting anytime soon.
He keeps coming back for more, he said, because of the “friendships, the camaraderie, the people. They could tear you up out on the track, and they’re all out fixing it when you come out.
“Blood on the track, beer in the pits.”
For Bob Muhlbach of rural Lancaster County, derbies are all about stress relief. It’s been bringing his blood pressure down for nearly 20 years.
“My dad took me to a Figure 8 race when I was a kid,” he said. “We had an old car at the farm, and the rest was history.”
He was a lifer after that.
And so was Tom Muhlbach, Bob’s little brother.
In the 12 years they’ve been competing against each other, Tom’s never come close to licking his big brother.
Not until Thursday night.
They were the last two drivers on the track during the finals. And it looked like maybe, just maybe, Tom stood a chance of defeating Bob.
Bob, after all, had a front-right tire that lay on its side.
But somehow, Bob pulled through and emerged the victor.
Tom: “I thought I had him.”
Reach Micah Mertes at 473-7395 or mmertes@journalstar.com.
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Thanks to the LJS- good story and video! "