All fair in love and Demolition

May 7—Entering its 35th year, EC Enterprises Smash Bash Demolition Derby went off without a hitch on Saturday at EC Enterprises Motorsports Park on Albright grade.

It's been roughly two years since EC Enterprises' founder Eric Christiansen moved the event to the new arena, and the days of limited parking and seating seem to be a thing of the past.

The only issues involving cars came from the night's entertainment, which included a plethora of racers competing for a $12,000 purse.

"I thought it was a great show," Christiansen said. "The crowd was huge, so that was great. It took 14 minutes to get everyone in and everyone else just trickled in from that point."

Here's how it played out:

Smash and bash

The main event of the night was the controlled chaos that is a demolition derby.

The most exciting derby came in the compact car class, which pitted 17 racers against each other.

As the smoke and dust clouds settled and 15 other racers pulled their flags, only two remained, and both were members of Outlaw Racing.

That's not an uncommon occurrence, considering Outlaw had 14 racers competing throughout the night. What made it unique was that the last two racers were Chastin Spring and Hailey Mendenhall, who are boyfriend and girlfriend.

The pair promised to put on a show if they were the last two remaining, and they did. They drove to opposite sides of the arena and collided, bringing the fans to their feet.

After the collision, Spring's vehicle stalled out, allowing Mendenhall to get the last hit and the first-place trophy.

"It feels so good to win, but I couldn't have done it without him," Mendenhall said. "He built most of my car, so I have to thank him for that."

The full-sized truck derby came to a bit of a mediocre end considering the start.

Josh Olander put an end to Tonya Fugate within the first 10 seconds after tipping her truck on its side.

After a few more eliminations, the final four trucks met in the middle of the arena. Every vehicle stalled out. This caused everyone to count down from 10, and by the end it was revealed Lewiston's Sean Robinson had won since he dished out the last significant hit.

In the final derby, Lewiston's Trevyn Colvin took home first place for the second year in a row. Colvin dominated his field as he unleashed three big hits to second-place finisher Jonathon Strickland before he pulled his flag.

"He's just solid," Christiansen said. "He takes his time and builds a really solid car, and we check it, and it's legal, and it hits pretty hard."

Figure 8s

Prior to the carnage, the drivers competed in figure-8 racing.

Justin Kirk of Chattaroy, Wash., won the full-sized car race.

Strickland was right on Kirk's tail the entire race as he earned his first of two second-place trophies.

Clarkston's Mitchell Spring earned a first-place finish in the compact car class after he dominated his first heat, taking the win in back-to-back years.

Lewiston's Wesley Jakkola made a run in the last moments, but it was Spring who tied it off at the last second.

Best in show

Smash Bash Demolition Derby fans probably saw a familiar vehicle during the judging of the best in show.

Rayder Blankenship won the contest last year for his elaborate Scooby Doo-themed full-sized car. Blankenship entered his vehicle for judging again this year, but this time it had — let's just say some cosmetic issues. This prevented Blankenship from being a two-time winner.

Instead, Lewiston's Eddie Lynch, who was competing in his first-ever demolition derby, earned the prize.

"We started getting to work in February," Lynch said. "It helps when you pay attention to detail. Everything really paid off for us."

Compact figure 8 — 1. Mitchell Spring; 2. Wesley Jakkola; 3. Nick Spring

Full-sized car figure 8 — 1. Justin Kirk; 2. Jonathon Strickland; 3. Eddie Lynch

Full-sized truck figure 8 — 1. Clinton Reese; 2. Brian Deyo; 3. Ryan Wood

Compact demo — 1. Hailey Mendenhall; 2. Chastin Spring; 3. Mitchell Spring

Full-sized car demo — 1. Trevyn Colvin; 2. Jonathon Strickland; 3. Tim Schoen

Full-sized truck demo — 1. Sean Robinson; 2. Brian Deyo; 3. Nick Spring

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks.