By Keith Gushard
MEADVILLE TRIBUNE
WEST MEAD TOWNSHIP —
WEST MEAD TOWNSHIP — “Five! Four! Three! Two! One!” bellows the public address announcer as tension and noise build in the crowd.
Engines roar, powering cars spewing up dirt from the track as drivers deliberately race toward each other — some driving backward.
A collective “Whooooooooa!” is voiced by the grandstand crowd at the Crawford County Fair a second before the first two cars collide with a terrific bang in the opening heat of Saturday afternoon’s demolition derby.
There’s a common bond uniting both drivers and spectators of demolition derbies — a love of seeing cars smashed.
“It’s a huge adrenaline rush when you’re out there,” said Dakota Papsun, 19, a driver from Conneaut Lake.
There’s an adrenaline among fans, too.
“It’s awesome. I like watching them smash up,” said Ryan Scheppelmann, 7, of Mercer, who was watching in the grandstand Saturday afternoon with his grandmother, Sue Scheppelmann of Linesville.
Ryan is a veteran demolition derby watcher, according to his grandmother, who took him to both the 2008 and 2009 derbies as well. Ryan always cheers for driver Mack Dickey, a friend of Ryan’s father, according to Mrs. Scheppelmann.
Asked if it’s a sport he’d like to try someday, Ryan responds with a resounding, “Yes, when I grow up!”
The demolition derby is good family entertainment, too, according to Fred and Chris Garvey of Conneaut Lake, who attended Saturday’s matinee with their two children, Owen, 6, and Evelyn, 5, and their niece, Brookelyn, 8.
“We like to come every year for Saturday afternoon,” Fred said.
“We each pick out our own favorite car to win. Of course, I was the only loser,” Chris said laughing.
Drivers like Papsun and George Cole of Erie said competing in a derby is just something that gets in the blood.
“It’s dangerous and risky, but I love it,” said Papsun, who is now in his fourth year as a derby driver — competing since he was 16.
Cole is one of the older drivers at age 49. He’s been doing derbies since about 1993 with this being his seventh year competing at the Crawford County Fair.
The thrill is what keeps him behind the wheel.
“It’s to beat these guys. If you win here, you beat the best,” said Cole, who was looking for his first win Saturday in Crawford County.
Asked if it’s not a younger man’s sport, Cole admits it is.
“He’ll be driving soon enough,” Cole said, pointing to his son who is on Cole’s car crew. “It’s getting to be a lot of work.”
Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.
