Demolition Derby highlights fair

Perhaps the biggest Payson Demolition Derby crowd ever turned out for the smallest-ever number of cars and trucks, but a smash em-up finale and a bunch of muddy kids saved the day.

The Demolition Derby headlined the two-day Northern Gila County Fair and at $12-a-head proved a solid moneymaker for Payson despite the $4,000 in prize money handed out.

The fair itself drew a decent crowd despite the hovering threat of rain this year, to gawk at the prize-winning calves, steers, sheep and other critters lovingly hand-raised by the 4-H club members, not to mention the displays of giant vegetables, evocative photographs, brilliant paintings and a host of other exhibits.

But the Saturday night Demolition Derby drew the biggest turnout staged in the evening instead of on a fair-ending Sunday afternoon this year.

But with just three cars entered and half a dozen trucks, the ballyhooed event seemed ready to break down especially when Mesa combatant Glen Maddens already astonishingly mangled car stalled out in the middle of the ring before the action even started. He called for transmission fluid, only to have his engine catch fire in a great cloud of smoke as the safety crew rushed into the arena with fire extinguishers.

Then, incredibly, Madden got his crushed-beer-can of a wreck started and the mayhem commenced.

The three cars entered battered away at one another, to the growing delight of the ample crowd, all amiable despite long delays and the threat of rain.

An iron-nerved driver in a bright yellow Impala triumphed in each of the three car-on-car heats, belying the conventional wisdom that you need a Cadillac or a Pontiac station wagon or maybe own an auto wrecking yard for spare parts if you want to win.

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Demolition Derby highlights fair