SMASH — The derby car driven by Ronald Crouse (No. 31) rams the back end of Ronnie Norris No. 3 Cadillac during derby action on Saturday night. About 1,600 attended the event.

About 1,600 attend Derby

About 1,600 people attended the Demolition Derby last Saturday night. The event serves as the kick-off to the Alleghany County Agricultural Fair, which will continue throughout this week.

Attendance was down only slightly from last year’s total of about 1,800. Michele Hamm, one of the organizers of the derby, said she was pleased with the turnout. “The stands looked pretty full and we were glad to have a successful beginning for the fair,” she said.

She noted that the event started off with a delay after beginning on time due to a glitch with the public address system.

“It actually started on time, but the PA system blew a fuse so we were delayed probably about 45 minutes,” she said. “Once it was replaced, everything went fine.”

During the judging for the best-looking car, Hamm said a Sparta Police Department vehicle was used to tell the crowd of the problem and also announced the winning vehicle in that event.

Even though the event started somewhat later than expected, it still was finished by around 10 p.m.

There were a total of 23 full-sized vehicles and six in the compact crusher competition, Hamm said. There were 26 full-sized vehicles signed up, but three were unable to compete due to mechanical problems. “We want to offer our thanks to Kemp Irwin and Darrell Greene, who helped put up the arena and remove vehicles after the races,” said Hamm.

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