NEW HAVEN — Some sounds are quintessential to Addison County Fair and Field Days — cows mooing, children laughing and, of course, cars crashing into each other again and again and again.
Such was the soundtrack at the New Haven fairground on Tuesday night, where the popular G. Stone Motors Demolition Derby kicked off for the first of three nights.
On the surface, it may seem repetitive to watch vehicles ram into one another for two hours. But each heat brings its own share of excitement and disappointments — the cars that roar back to life after a hard hit, family members competing together on the tractor pad, air horns sounding as Vergennes firefighters rush to assess a vehicle that has caught flames.
Crowds on Tuesday saw drivers compete in three categories: Bone Stock Compacts, V8 and Mini Vans.
There were three heats for Bone Stock Compacts, each of which produced a few winners that advanced to a 10-car feature event to cap off the evening.
Tuesday’s heat winners, including the drivers designated by announcer Kilie Martell as the “Mad Dog” winner of their heat, are listed below. To earn the “Mad Dog” honor a driver must be the most aggressive behind the wheel in the first two minutes of a heat.
Independent photo/Steve James
Names are printed as they appear in results.
- Heat One: Tim Whitney, Brady Lloyd, Zach Bottala.
- Heat Two: Lexi Whitney, Special Eddie Havens, Austin Bowdish.
- Heat Three: Issah Whitney, Tim Fredrick, Ross Lumbra.
- Feature event: 1. Havens; 2. Tim Whitney; 3. Bottala; and Mad Dog Lexi Whitney.
- V8 Heat: 1. Tommy Woodbury; 2. Wade Steel; 3. Matt Merchant. Steel and Merchant both earned Mad Dog honors.
- Mini Vans Heat: 1. Greg Whitney; 2. Tanner English; 3. Kilie Martell. English also recieved the Mad Dog award.
Racing continued Wednesday evening after the deadline for this edition, and wraps up Thursday beginning at 7 p.m. at the Tractor Pad.
