Smashing good time
Demolition derby a fan favourite at Pictou exhibition
To some it’s beautiful destruction.
To others it is the most redneck sport out there.
To Terry Nelson, it has all the potential of being a record setting night.
The Bible Hill resident will be taking four vehicles to the Pictou-North Colchester Exhibition’s demolition derby competitions Sept. 7 in hopes of competing in his 100th derby event.
“I started in Truro in 1992 at the exhibition in Truro and I used to fly home from Alberta just to do the exhibition derby. I would always take money out of the Pictou derby, but I never won my home derby.”
He placed second in the Colchester exhibition derby this year, but he purchased the Cadillac that beat from his friend and is taking that to Pictou for the rear-wheel drive competitions.
He will be driving an Impala in the front-wheel drive and an SUV in the SUV event, but his all time favourite is the mini van competition.
Nelson said the design of the mini van allow them to hit without folding.
“If I take four cars, I expect two wins,” he said of the Pictou competition. “I do have people gunning for me over there. Bob MacDonald is pretty good and he has a good sturdy car so it should be interesting to go up against him. I had a lot of fun over the years with Bob and the boys.”
Nelson said there is little that needs to be done to prepare it for derbies other than making sure all of the glass is out of the windows and the interior of the vehicle is removed. If the vehicle’s gas tank is behind the rear wheel, it must be taken inside the car with a shield around it. A metal plate can also be placed in the driver’s side door for safety.
He also places the car’s battery inside the sitting area of the vehicle so that it will be protected from front-end hits.
It is only a safety measure, but it could keep him in the derby a little longer because hits can make the plugs come loose and stall the car.
As for tips on how to be a successful driver, Nelson said there is one very crucial element to being the last car driving.
“You got to have a good rubber neck and look around to see where the other guy went,” he said. “It doesn’t have a lot to do with the car.”
Nelson’s familiar opponent, Bob MacDonald of Lyons Brook, agrees but he says his best strategy is just to keep hitting.
“You have to keep moving,” he said. “I have stayed in a corner before and let people come hit me. If you are out driving around looking for someone, you can get hit. If you are picking your hits, it is easier.”
But don’t be a sandbagger. That is the driver that continues to drive around the edge in circles waiting for the rest of the group to get caught up with hits so he or she can be last car driving.
“You see those guys and some guys have a name for that,” he said. “Sometimes those are the targets right off the bat.”
MacDonald said it is also important to use the rear of the vehicle as much as possible whether a person is hitting or getting hit.
“It’s an adrenaline rush going after someone else trying to disable their car and put on a show for the fans,” he said. “You always have to be watching. There are no spotters or radios. Try to keep your front end clean and use the rear.”
MacDonald, who has participated in derbies across the province in the past, won the rear wheel drive at the Colchester exhibition last week.
Like Nelson, he plans on taking in at least four cars and run each if the classes, but this will depend on how quickly he can get all of the vehicles ready by Thursday night.
His son Justin will be driving his front wheel drive car and he is hoping someone else will jump in his second rear wheel drive car that is ready to go.
“I prefer driving the rear wheel,” he said. “They are bigger cars and they are what I started derbying with and soon they will be harder to find because they aren’t making big rear wheel drive cars like they used to.”
This is the first year, the Pictou-North Colchester Exhibition has hosted four derby class events and having a SUV competition is new to the derby world.
“We tried to have an SUV class last year but no one showed up, but this year we think we have three or four,” he said, adding the grand prize for this class is $250 to win.
The exhibition will also be selling tickets for a chance for someone to drive a derby car on Thursday night.
“If anyone ever dreamed of doing the derby, here is your chance,” he said, adding the person who wins the derby drive must be 18 years or over and have a helmet.
Tickets are available at Canada’s Discount Emporium in Pictou, Big Al’s in New Glasgow or by using e-transfer to kentcorbett@bellaliant.net. Tickets are $5 each or three for $10. The draw will take place Wednesday, Sept. 6 on Kent Corbett’s Facebook live.
Corbett said the demolition derby is the largest non-livestock event the exhibition hosts, but he expects there will be other attractions as well, including the tough truck competitions, lawn mower races and burnout competitions.
The Pictou-North Colchester Exhibition begins Wednesday and a complete list of events can be found at www.pictouexhibiton.com