Demolition derby thrills Stampede crowd

(Information in this story has been corrected.)

When Chelsea Prevost , a hair stylist from Evans, tells clients shes going to a demolition derby race, they usually assume its to watch her husband.

Nope, she tells them proudly and with a smirk. I have my own car.

Prevost and dozens of other drivers rammed and slammed their cars to the limit for a piece of a $20,000 purse split between several classes at Sundays Greeley Stampede Demolition Derby. Prevost made it to the finale with her Mickey Mouse-themed car, which finally gave out in the last bout when her transmission cracked and landed her in 6th place in her class.

I love it, said Prevost, already feeling bruises come on from collisions as she helped prep her car to last one more round. I dont want to be in some powder puff. This is the hardest-hitting derby Ive been in.

Prevosts husband, Bobby, is also a driver, but he missed out this year without a car that met this derbys requirements. Prevost said her car, with a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal hanging on for dear life, was decorated for her 18-month-old son, Logan. She also sported a logo for Zacs Legacy Foundation, a Greeley non-profit that raises money for families with kids who have cancer.

Sundays event was just shy of selling out, the stadium echoing with hoots, hollers and sometimes boos from a crowd that nearly filled the stadium. Bill Hall, chairman of the demolition derby, said getting that healthy crowd was the main goal this year.

We used to sell it out, and we havent in a few years, so I wanted to bring it back to that level.

Hall said new rules and new events aimed to spice it up a little bit. For instance, drivers in the demolition derby got a running start with a lap around the track before they could start hitting each other, and a motorcycle barrel race took up some down time between heats. The organization also upped the ante with sticks in the middle of the track worth $100 for the first driver to run over it.

Mark Woodward, The Mile High Mouth, announced the blow-by-blow action of the derby. Woodward, a Longmont motocross rider and gear salesman by trade, said hes lent his voice to more than 550 events in his 30-year career.

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Demolition derby thrills Stampede crowd