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Steinke’s Prism takes first beating at county fair |
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Friday, 01 August 2008 |
By BRIAN SMITH
Sports Editor
Joshua Steinke’s fluorescent orange Geo Prism looked like it was dropped onto its back end on Thursday night after just about ten minutes of demolition derby action.
It was a collision that sent Steinke’s helmet flying off his head into the back of the compact car during the mini-car event at the Auglaize County Fair’s demolition derby on Thursday night that really made an impact on the crowd.
Steinke took the knock off the noggin in stride, though.
“You don’t really need a helmet,” he said with a smile. “I knew I was going to hit him hard, but I didn’t know my helmet was going to fly off.”
The little Prism dueled with two other small cars, one painted into an Ohio State football helmet. While the impacts between the heavier vehicles actually contain more force, the compact cars had the speed and collisions that drew the oohs and ahhs from the crowd. With the big grandstand and four smaller bleachers surrounding it, it looked like a giant hat filled to the brim with spectators on the fairgrounds on Thursday night.
“The little cars just float over that mud,” Steinke said.
That was evident by Steinke’s car losing about half its volume by the end of the derby. Not big to begin with, the Prism hardly had room where the back seat used to be.
And why, pray tell, would anyone get into a car and purposely do what is avoided at all costs on the highway?
“When you get ticked off at a driver on the road, you can’t really hit them,” Steinke said. “Out here you can do that... This being my first one, I was nervous until you get out there.”
Steinke said he spent a couple hours after work for two to three weeks on his car in preparation for the derby. “But that’s not a lot compared to some of the bigger cars out here,” he added.
As Steinke said that, one driver was welding parts back onto the car inside the wheel well to go back out and give the event another try.
The big crowd watched as modified cars smashed into each other by backing into each other to keep their cars running while trying to disable their opponents.
The event featured American-made cars 1978 and newer, with drivers trying to be the last car still running for the victory. Run by the company Smash It, the demo derby had a stock, compact, trucks, and a feature event. The feature event brought in a $700 purse for the winner.
One driver was taken from his pick-up truck during the truck event on a stretcher as a precaution.
All glass is removed from the cars and the battery is hooked up on the inside of the vehicle to avoid explosion.
Drivers put together hasty paint jobs with sponsors and family members’ names put on with spray paint. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 04 August 2008 )
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