There were seven drivers in the 9th Annual Demolition Derby on Saturday at Montezuma County Speedway.
And they each had their own strategy.
Some were new to the competition, like Braxton Newkirk of Bayfield, who at 17 was preparing for his first derby.
Newkirk’s father and uncle have been active in demolition derbies for a while, but on Saturday it was his turn.
His strategy?
“Just hit a bunch of cars,” he replied.
Then there was Ray Ainge from Moab, Utah.
Ainge has been active in derbies for the last four years, traveling to competitions in northern Utah and western Colorado. His plan was the opposite of Newkirk’s.
“Just don’t get hit,” he said. “I play chicken at first. Just feel out the field.”
Then there was Tanner Smedstad of Cortez, Darell Cordary of Durango, Nikki Martinez from Alamosa, and derby organizer Duane Bradshaw, who each had their own ideas for how to win.
Finally, there was John Hamilton of Cortez.
Hamilton wasn’t entered in the derby, so he probably hadn’t given much thought to specific tactics.
However, Hamilton’s wife Betsy was selected to drive the “Make a Crash for Cancer Car,” after purchasing raffle tickets to support the Montelores Cancer Fund, which raised $1,740 from the event.
She nominated her husband, John, to drive in her place.
“He came out to get a hot dog and now he’s in a car,” the P.A. announcer joked over the loudspeaker.
Hamilton was given safety equipment and prepped to drive the pink #00 car while the cars driven by Martinez, Bradshaw, Ainge and Newkirk smashed into each other during the first heat.
Hamilton was not necessarily excited or nervous.
“I’m…” Hamilton paused when asked how he was feeling. “I’m not quite sure,” he chuckled.
But when Hamilton entered the track during the second heat, his instincts took over.
He and Cordary advanced to the final heat, while Smedstad sat in his car as it was carried off by forklift.
Between heats, drivers had a limited amount of time to get their cars back in running condition before the last chance qualifier and final event.
After taking punishment during their first heat, all of the cars were damaged, some more than others.
Newkirk’s gray #16 car was dragging metal from both ends.
“We’ll get it as straight as we can and get as much clearance between the tires and fenders,” Newkirk explained as his crew operated on the disfigured machine.
“It looks like Bradshaw and I are in the same boat,” he said.
Bradshaw had taken similar damage to the backside of his blue #7 7/8 car, with the metal frame bent down over the back tires.
“The back just folded like a pop can,” Bradshaw said while assessing the damage, his crew working nearby with cutting tools and welding equipment.
Others, like Martinez, Ainge and Cordary, had lesser problems to worry about.
Martinez and her husband Keith Rousey worked to install a new electric fuel pump, while the damages to Ainge and Cordary’s cars didn’t even require power tools.
Instead, the two teams utilized sledgehammers to knock metal away from their tires.
In what may have been a battle of attrition, Ainge and Cordary had two of the last three cars running in the final event, along with Bradshaw’s
After Ainge and Bradshaw had gotten pinned together against a sidewall, Cordary became the aggressor.
He rammed the front end of his car into both Ainge and Bradshaw, and then dropped it into reverse before lurching forward to slam into the two cars again.
Taking the hits from Cordary and unable to move, Bradshaw dropped his flag removing himself from the competition.
While Cordary finished off Bradshaw, Ainge had managed to flee, partially, by backing away into the corner. Then he became stuck again.
Cordary spun his car around and aimed for Ainge. With Ainge unable to escape from the corner, Cordary again alternated between drive and reverse.
First forward, slamming into Ainge’s car, then backward to position himself to begin the sequence again.
Finally, as his car failed, Ainge dropped his flag.
Raising his arms inside the battered green, orange and white car, Cordary celebrated.
It was just his third time competiting in a demolition derby, but Cordary was named the winner.
It could have been luck.
But perhaps it was strategy.