All's not-so-'fair' in competition
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on October 8, 2017 1:45 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
George Krumpacker stands in front of his 1974 Ford F350 with a trophy and prize money for having the ugliest truck at the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair Saturday. Krumpacker bought the truck new for $2,800 and has put more than 300,000 miles on it.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Nathan Lancaster stands on the tailgate of his uncle's 1984 Nissan truck to get cheers from the crowd at the start of the Ugly Truck Competition.
When George Crumpacker saw his competition at the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair's Ugly Truck Competition Saturday, he knew he'd won.
Granted, there was only one other entrant, but that wasn't really the point.
Crumpacker's truck, a thoroughly beat-up 1974 Ford pickup with over 300,000 miles, took the first prize at the competition Saturday, beating the 1984 Nissan truck owned by Nathan Lassiter.
Starting around 1 p.m., the two men drove their trucks to the waiting area in front of a large crowd and parked to the side of where the demolition derby would take place shortly thereafter. Soon, they were called to drive up in front of the stage to be judged.
Lassister was the first to speak, and he joked about having stolen the car from a family member just that morning to bring to the competition. The Nissan had 296,000 miles on it, he said, and Lassiter had used it for hauling trash every now and then.
Crumpacker spoke next. He bought his truck brand new in 1974, and had used it extensively since then.
"We've driven to Missouri in it four or five times, and I've used it a lot for hauling wood," he said.
Dented all over, with a caved-in rear bumper and a chain holding down the hood, Crumpackers truck seemed a shoe-in for first place. When asked if he was confident he would win, he agreed.
"When I saw the competition, yes," he said with a grin.
The crowd agreed. They determined the winner by round of applause, and their choice was clear -- although it seemed that many of them simply liked the Ford brand, something Crumpacker agreed with.
"Anybody can own a Ford," he said.
For his win, Crumpacker took home $100. He got back into his truck with his money, slowly turned it in the right direction, and puttered off in determination.