Fall demo derby set for Saturday

For the first time in about a decade, the Clark County Fair Board will host a fall demolition derby.

The “Bash for Cash” demo derby will take place Saturday at the Clark County Fairgrounds with a little something for everyone in the family to enjoy.

Fair board member Andrew Fugitt said the event is a fundraiser to help the board after a rainy fair week this year.

“We only had about two good days of the fair this year because of the rain,” Fugitt said. “Normally, the fair pretty much provides our income all year round, so we can pay bills and put on a good fair each year. We just didn’t make the money this year.”

Fugitt said he has loved demo derbies since he was a kid and threw out the idea to host another demolition derby in the fall, and the board ran with it.

“I used to derby and I’ve always been interested in it,” Fugitt said. “I thought this would be a way for the board to recoup some of the money we didn’t make this year.”

Fugitt said he expects at least 60 to 70 cars this weekend, which is more than typically signs up for the fair’s annual demo derby. He attributes that to some great prizes available for competitors.

“We’ve gotten some local businesses to sponsor the purses and the purses are a little bigger, trophies are a little better,” Fugitt said. “The Mad-Dog award, which is for the crowd pleaser, the driver that puts on the best show, is normally $100, but for this derby the local sponsors have allowed us to up that to $500. That’s attracting more people.”

Other prizes include $1,000 for first-place, $400 for second and $100 for third.

Besides the traditional derby, which begins at 6 p.m., the event will also include a trunk-or-treat at 4:30 p.m. Local businesses can still sign up to hand out candy, which includes two free entries to the derby. Children are encouraged to wear costumes.

There will also be a power wheels derby for children under 8, which begins at 5:45 p.m.

Entry to the event is $10.

“It’s for a good cause,” Fugitt said. “It’s to the help the fair board continue to give back to the community and put on a good fair each year.”

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