BY ANDREW BAILEY
BG Independent News Correspondent
Sparks flew, tires spun, and crowds roared at Friday night’s demolition derby.
At the Pulltown racetrack, combines, minivans, lawnmowers, and children’s cars were in a dirt arena surrounded by concrete blocks with one goal: be the last of their vehicle standing.
The combines were the main event of the night, and Tyler Trumbull, driving “KynLee Strong,” took home the grand prize of $250, after outlasting seven combines across three rounds.
The fifth-year competitor narrowly escaped the first heat, after “Porky’s Next Generation” was tipped over from a three-way collision between the two combines and “Mullet Bine.” Trumbull then caused “Mullet Bine,” driven by first-year competitor Carter Kreps, to stall out, moving the two onto the final.
In the second heat, “Black Widow” and “The Survivor Reboot” advanced to the finals after Jarren Gremaux’s “Fence Row Fugitive II” wouldn’t start due to multiple heavy hits.
In the final, “Black Widow” and “The Survivor Reboot” were eliminated early. It came down to Trumbull and Kreps for the second time. After they tore multiple chunks of metal off each other, Trumbull stalled Kreps out again to win.
Trumbull also won $100 for the Best Dressed Combine award. His machine was drenched in pink, with the names of dozens of family members and friends plastered on its side. Trumbull’s win — and every derby the family competes in — is dedicated to his late daughter, KynLee, who died from congenital heart disease five years ago.
Multiple members of the family compete in derbies in remembrance of KynLee. Trumbull said they compete as a family and win as a family.
“It wasn’t just me who won this today,” he said. “It was all of us.”
His winnings will go back into fixing the battered front end of “KynLee Strong” in time for their next competition in Sandusky.
While he’s proud of his win, Trumbull said the derby “is about everyone, everyone who competed today and all the fans.”
The fans let their presence be known, especially for the first minivan competition.
It began with seven minivans, until it came down to the “Mom Bomb” and the “Mystery Machine.” After “Mom Bomb” got stuck in the dirt, “Mystery Machine” repeatedly rammed its back end into the opposition. After the “Mystery Machine” did enough damage, they stood atop all the other meddling kids to win the first minivan demolition derby.
Children and teenagers competed too, in children’s cars and lawnmowers respectively.
The Little Tikes kicked off the evening in mini monster trucks and tricked-out Jeeps. After 10 minutes, and four kids left standing, the matchup ended in a draw due to time running out. But each fierce competitor won a participation trophy and a free slushie.
Lawnmowers followed, driven by high schoolers. And with no grass on the dirt track, they mowed down each other instead.
The final showdown of the first heat was Victoria Frisch, driving “Team Chicken,” and Jason Young, driving “Big John.” Stuck, and with a bent wheel, Frisch rammed Young until his mower sputtered and died.
Frisch notched her second win last night, after winning last year too.
First-year competitor Spence Linkey won the second heat.
