by Michaele Webb
Now that May is here, St. Lawrence County residents are officially done with winter and looking ahead to all of the fun activities planned for the summer months. This past weekend was Derby Weekend. While the majority of the United States had their eyes on the television, watching the Kentucky Derby, St. Lawrence County citizens had another derby on their minds.
The spring demolition derby took place on Sunday, May 7th, 2023. A crowd of around 600 fans flooded the Gouverneur and St. Lawrence County fairgrounds for the event. The derby pulled in a wide audience, from the very young to the very old. There was a little girl cheering on her uncle. She beamed with pride as she wore a shirt that said, “My first derby” and had his car number written on it. Another family brought their three-week-old son to the event and were excited to introduce him to derby life and to show him off to the crowd.
If you have never been to a demolition derby, it is really an experience that goes far beyond the track. Fans wear derby shirts with either their favorite participant or a funny derby pun written on them. The crowd roars as each driver enters the track and screams even louder when their driver crashes into another vehicle. Onlookers stand as close as they can to the track, while still staying safe, so that they don’t miss a bit of the action. Regular derby attendees note that you haven’t really been to a derby unless you can taste the mud and have at least a little dirt on your clothing.
There is also a clear sense of comradery amongst the drivers. They helped each other out of their vehicles and helped other drivers find parts of their cars that were lost during the heats. They chatted with each other in amazement about how many parts they lost before their vehicles died. Many of the drivers are also related, which adds to the fun, sometimes heated, competition. They may fight a little bit during the derby, but in the end, most everyone rides off as friends.
Fair Manager Donald Peck emceed the derby, which was made up of right heats, a consolation round, and a final feature. The final two cars from each heat and the consolation round took part in the final feature.
The 4-cylinder cars started things off in Heat 1. Car 72A, driven by Amanda Dibble, and Roger Dean, in car 54, moved on from Heat 1. Heat 2 was the 6-cylinder cars. Keera Dean in car 22 and Adam Dean in car 8 left the other cars in the dust and went on to compete in the Final Feature. The V8 cars were up next! Chris Monroe in “Not Forgotten” and Chester Rathbun in car 55 were the last cars standing in this heat. In Heat 4, the audience saw the first trucks of the afternoon. Adam Dean, truck 8, and Denny Dean, truck 43, accelerated forward to compete in the final. Heat 5 was another 4-cylinder car competition. Car 22K, driven by Keera Dean, and car 48, driven by Frank Dean, moved forward from this Heat. Heat 6 was the second truck event of the afternoon. Truck 84, Allen Dean, and truck 01, Drake Matthews, drove over the other trucks to make it to the Final Feature. The V6 cars came crashing in on Heat 7. Driver, Cody Durham, in car 68, and Derek Widrick, car 52, outlasted the rest of the cars to head on to the final. Chris Rookey, in car 49, and Mike Durham, in car 4, drove their cars to victory in Heat 8, which was the final V8 event of the day. Only two cars, 12, Jarrett Knight, and 63, Bryan Brothers, competed in the Consolation Round, so they were both automatically entered into the Final Feature.
After the Consolation Round, it was the moment that everyone had been waiting for as the top cars from each heat rolled into their spots for the Final Feature. After a lot of smoke, noise, and crashes, Adam Dean was declared the winner and awarded the grand prize of $500. Allen Dean came in second place and won $250.
If you missed the spring derby or just want to get another taste of the action, you’re in luck! There will be another demolition derby during the Gouverneur & St. Lawrence County Fair on Sunday, August 6. Look out for more information on the fair’s website, https://gouverneurfair.net.