Gene Dalton | Roanoke Times

Demolition derby packed the stands Monday night.

DUBLIN -- Angela Linkous took off work Monday to catch her favorite event at the New River Valley Fair: the demolition derby.

"I just love seeing them banging into each other, and the dirt flying everywhere," the Pembroke resident said.

Judging from the cheers, thousands felt the same way on the fair's opening night, which drew a large crowd despite sweltering heat.

A healthy audience watched as Stephanie Hurt of Fairlawn out-sang Eddie Richards of Christiansburg and Rob Barron of Radford to be named Star of the Blue Ridge and get 10 hours of free recording time to make a demo.

Many watched as a member of the Victoria Circus bicycled on a tightrope.

But automotive mayhem was the biggest draw by far. More than 2,500 people filled the grandstand for the derby. Even more people stood anywhere within view of the 65-foot-by-130-foot patch of gravel where drivers got out their road rage without fear of tickets or lawsuits.

"It's about taking frustrations out and having fun," said Jason Carter of Meadowview.

He got $500, a big blue trophy and bragging rights for keeping his 1973 Chevrolet Impala running longer than the other nine cars in the feature event, the motorsports equivalent of a heavyweight battle royale.

Kevin Boerstler Jr. of Pulaski took the compact-car title in a 1986 Ford Tempo that had just been sitting around in his driveway. He had never competed in a derby before but plans to do so again.

"First time, first place," Boerstler said. "You can't top that."

New River Valley Fair President Bud Walsh could not remember when the fair's first demolition derby took place but said they have been a consistently huge draw going back at least a decade.

For the money it costs to put on a demolition derby there is no better drawing event at county fairs, said Mike Rutter, show manager for Nation-wide Demolition Derby, which puts on about 100 such events annually, including the New River Valley Fair's.

"When you go to NASCAR the crashes are always the most spectacular thing," Nutter said. "Here you're seeing nothing but crashes."

Demolition derby is also one of the most democratic of motorsports. A fast-running race car is beyond the means of most, but crash-worthy beater cars can be bought for $100 or less, though getting them ram-worthy takes considerable work.

To prepare cars for a derby, participants remove all windows, which could shatter and fly into the driver. Steel beams are often welded onto the door panels to help protect the driver and to hold the car together longer. Batteries and fuel tanks are moved into the cabin to shield them from impact.

Today's cars are lousy for derbies because of safety features such as crumple zones.

The best cars, several participants said, are Impalas or other General Motors land boats from 1971-76. Despite its maker's reputation for crash worthiness, the one Volvo in the event was knocked out quickly.

Its driver, Michael Lutz of Dublin, bought the car for $40 and decided to enter it because "I just want to tear something up, legal-wise."

Rutter said his goal in putting in a good show is "to come as close as we can to somebody getting hurt, without doing it."

Rickey Kimmel traveled from Winston-Salem, N.C., to compete in 1976 Impala that had already been though five derbies. Its rear was so crumpled at the start of the event that it looked like one blow would do it in.

But Kimmel got through the qualifying round. "It's all about having fun," he said.

Several participants in Monday's derby were members of an extended New Castle family whose patriarch has a wrecking service, an ideal source of demolition derby cars.

"We grew up in a junk yard," said Mary Barker, who filmed her husband, Tony, brother Donnie Wayne Barker, and two half brothers, Daniel Givens and Zachary Peters, as they tried to wreck one another. Donnie Wayne Barker came in second, good for $200.

"It's a family competition thing to see who can outdo the other," Mary Barker said. "Never any bad blood. It's all for fun."

Her 5-year-old daughter, Tierrney Zysk, said she plans to "run derby" one day.

"We have a go-kart and she just gets wide open," Mary Barker said. "She crashed into a tractor a few months ago and wasn't scared at all, just said a few cuss words. She's my daredevil."