New twist for fair favorite
The Lions Club has announced a new set of rules for their 2011 demolition derby to be held during the Sanders County Fair next fall. The rules were approved to improve driver safety, increase parody between competing cars, and improve viewer satisfaction during the event.
The new rules were decided upon after a series of meeting between drivers and Lions Club members last week. They include standardization of bumper height, the prohibition of sub-frame components and restrictions on bumper attachment methods. The rules are available in full at the Sanders County Fair’s website (www.sanderscountyfair.com).
“For the new guy to come in and compete against one of those would not be fair,” Lions Club treasurer Ken Matthiesen said. “It would be like a row boat against a battleship.”
The rules were voted as final on Tuesday, Feb 8 by a technical crew, not associated with the fair board or Lions Club after an unusually high number of disqualifications last fall resulting in dissatisfaction by spectators.
“There are always people, who, just like in NASCAR, read between the lines and try to take advantage of whatever things they can,” Matthiesen said. “Where we ran into some problems last year were with some people who went too far and got caught.”
The decision was made after sample rules from other derbies were examined and discussed. Matthiesen insists that driver safety was the paramount concern throughout the process.
According to Matthiesen the Lions Club’s other goals were to keep the derby competitive to entertain fans and to give prospective contestants a chance to compete. A new driver is at enough of a disadvantage with his lack of experience before counting the high cost of obtaining and modifying a car that can stack up against the other tanks.
“Our goal from the Lions Club is to keep it very competitive so someone could buy an abandoned car from the auction or take your grandmas old car out of the backyard and with little expense prepare it to be run in the derby,” Matthiesen said.