Derby makes triumphant return
By John Joyce
Published in News on October 4, 2014 10:59 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Casey Bunn, 19, of Goldsboro reverses his car into a competitor during the demolition derby held Saturday at the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair.
Twisted metal and shed tires were strewn about in a pit of reddish-brown dirt.
Heaps of discarded car parts -- windshield washer fluid basins and shards of fender -- were piled against the outside of a horseshoe of concrete barriers.
Over the public address speakers, the countdown began.
"Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Go."
The crowd erupted.
After a one-year hiatus, the demolition derby returned to the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair Saturday with a bang -- and a few crunches.
Four heats -- two groups of 4-cylinder cars and two groups of 6-cylinder cars -- faced off in front of a crowd of several hundred.
The carnage did not disappoint.
Casey Bunn, 19, took the first heat, winding up the only driver still able to move his vehicle after the rest were knocked out of commission.
Minutes prior to the competition, he said it was his first derby.
"He is scared," his father, Joel, said.
But the younger Bunn showed no fear in the pit -- reversing into the front end, side and rear of every other vehicle in the ring.
The only rule strictly enforced is not crashing directly into the driver's door, which every contestant obeyed.
After the win, Bunn talked about the exhilaration he felt behind the wheel.
"It was an experience," he said.
He said it hurt exactly as much as it might have looked like it did from the stands, and it would likely hurt more the next day.
"I thought I was going to die from that first hit, but I got out of there," he said.
JM Productions, Inc., of Hamburg, N.Y., put on the show and track boss Ron Cummings refereed.
Stan McHenry, a 30-year veteran of the Durham Police Department, emceed.
"At some of our bigger events, drivers are awarded style points, best looking car, etc. Today, though, it is all about the last man or woman standing. That's it," McHenry said.
And that was it.
Cars had 60 seconds to make contact with one another. Sitting still any longer would result in the car being ruled disabled and the driver being ousted from the competition.
Tires warped off their rims and axles bent.
Drivers' heads -- secured with helmets and chin straps -- looked like bobble-head dolls in their cars after some of the more notable collisions.
There were a few engine fires and radiator ruptures that sent smoke billowing into the air, but the crowd didn't mind and neither did the drivers.
Cummings let the action continue unless there was a danger to the drivers or the crowd, which there never was.
The Arrington and Saulston Volunteer Fire Departments were on hand to be sure of that.
The firefighters did have to douse one engine blaze, but it came at the end of the second heat so the action was never interrupted.
Kenny Grady won that round after knocking out his brother, Joseph.
The Mount Olive boys were the last two cars remaining and Joseph waved his brother on -- encouraging Kenny to finish him off when he knew he'd been bested.
"Everybody's got to have a hobby," Grady said after winning.
C. J. Creech, of Kenly, took top honors in the next group, the first of the 6-cylinders, followed by Kenneth Faulkner II, of LaGrange, in the final heat.
All four winners advanced to the state championship to be held at the state fair in Raleigh Oct. 26.