Twisted Metal '22: Demolition derby returns to Portage County Randolph Fair

During the day, the Portage County Randolph Fair is a pastoral scene. Livestock judging, rides, and fair food preoccupy its attendees. When the sun goes down, things take a different turn.

On Tuesday night, the Rufener Grandstand transformed into something resembling the set of a Mad Max movie.

It was the first night of a two-night demolition derby.

Cars dented and smashed from previous abuse, windowless and spray painted, lined up by class in the infield. A rough rectangle of concrete blocks reinforced from behind by logs staked to the ground was arranged in the center of the arena, a barrier meant to keep the cars from careening into the fence protecting the crowd.

Before getting into the wanton full-sized destruction, a pack of pint-sized road warriors tested their mettle against each other in the Power Wheels class.

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Drivers ages 4 to 10 rode their battery-operated Power Wheels-brand cars into the arena, mashing plastic against plastic in hopes of being the last one standing.

Mike and Rachel Wells' young daughter Raelyn, driving the No. 27 car, competed in the Power Wheels Derby for the first time.

"I'm going to crash people!" Raelyn shouted over the din, nodding enthusiastically when asked if she expected to win.

Mike, a Randolph native, has been to the derby quite a bit over the years. He used to come every year, he said, and hopes that coming to the fair and smashing up a car in the derby will become a family tradition.

"She's excited, we're pumped" Rachel said, "I'm getting a little bit nervous."

Mike and Rachel were both concerned that Raelyn might try to get out of her car if the battery died in the middle of the action, but their anxieties seemed to be simple pre-show jitters.

"I think she'll be alright. She's pretty pumped; she's been talking about it for days," said Rachel.

Craig Snyder and Amanda Alter brought young Tristen, driver of the No. 4 car, to compete for the second year in a row. Tristen, Craig said, performed admirably last year, driving his car out of the arena under its own power.

Following the National Anthem, the children's cars lined up inside the ring of concrete blocks. After a five second countdown, the field erupted in a whir of electric motors, transforming the arena into a mosh pit of crunching plastic.

The little cars kicked up a surprising amount of dirt, making it hard to keep track of whose car is out of commission and whose is still running as the kids smash into each other. At one point, Tristen's car flipped backwards nearly vertical, resting on its rear bumper, but he was unharmed and his pit crew righted his vehicle so he could continue.

Despite the violence, the kids were all smiles.

After a few minutes of chaos, the referees waved the red flag, signaling the end of the event. Those drivers with still-operable cars were given black and gold medals.

Afterwards, Mike said his daughter panicked a couple times, but Mom gave her a pep talk to get her back in the action.

"For the first time, a little rough," he said, "but she did good." He expects she'll be back next year.

As the sun sank lower on the horizon, the electric whir of the Power Wheels class was replaced by the full-throated growl of the internal combustion engine.

Racing in the third heat, the Smash it Mini class, was a team called Bro Town USA.

Three of four of Bro Town's drivers are related. Nathan and Aaron Eckhardt are brothers — residents of Garrettsville and Rootstown respectively. Their cousin Wesley Neff of Ravenna and their friend Billy Allison of Streetsboro were on the team as well. It was Billy's first time running a car in the derby, but the Eckhardt brothers and cousin Wesley have entered the event for the past five years.

Billy was excited to get to smashing, but said he didn't expect to win, drawing some laughs from his team.

Nathan isn't able to be around often. He's currently on leave from active duty with the U.S. Army, with which he's served for two years. The annual demolition derby is something he's able to do that brings him back together with his family.

The cars competing in the Smash It Mini heat filed into the infield. After a five second countdown, the derby began.

Metal crunched on metal as the already-scarred cars threw themselves against each other. Something happened, it's hard to tell just what, and Nathan was knocked out within minutes of the heat. He walked off the course, spinning his helmet in the mud in frustration.

The destruction continued, and one by one, Bro Town's drivers are eliminated, Wesley being the last one on the team still driving until he, too, broke down, having taken one too many hits.

Cars piled up against the walls, smoke pouring from the twisted steel corpses. Drivers pinned their cars against other cars, taking running starts at their competition, trying to put as much force behind the hit as possible.

Suddenly, Mantua's Shaun Petri's car erupted in flames. Petrie jumped from the car almost immediately, abandoning it in favor of self preservation. The action slammed to a halt and the Randolph Township Fire Department sprang into action, extinguishing the nearly 15-foot-tall flames coming from the engine compartment.

After the danger passed, the derby sprang back into life.

Mary Jarvis, part of Bro Town's pit crew, said it was a hard luck night for her team, but it was fun watching them duke it out in the mud.

Wesley wasn't too broken up about not taking first, saying that getting his car busted up comes with the territory.

"That's what I went out there to do," he said, "I'm only here to have fun. It's one of those things — I just put time and effort into this to keep myself out of trouble...and wreck a few cars." His plan was to make some repairs and come back Wednesday for Round Two.

While slightly more disappointed, Nathan said he was going to make an attempt at repairs and come back the next night as well.

"I was hoping to at least move a foot," Nathan said. "It's a pre-ran car. For what it is, it ran and drove before it came out here, so there's a good chance it'll be running and driving again tomorrow."

While Josh Burns of Lousiville took first in the Super Smash It mini class, Bro Town will have a chance for one of their drivers to take another shot during the second day of the derby on Wednesday.

The madness continued into the night, the sound of revving engines and crunching metal reverberating throughout the neon lit fairgrounds, gladiators in gasoline chariots competing for glory in Portage County.

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage County Randolph Fair demolition derby becomes family tradition