Star-Journbal Editor
The stoked-up fans packing the grandstands Saturday at the Marion County Fair weren't surprised to see a Hamm win the 34th annual demolition derby. After all, Chad Hamm has won the event three times before.
But when an evening's worth of bumping and grinding was done and only one car on the muddy infield could still run, it was Chad's younger brother, Chris Hamm, who had won.
"I guess it was my turn," Chris said the day after, as the soreness and significance of the night before began to set in.
After three unsuccessful attempts to win a demolition derby of his own, Chris, 28, of Hillsboro, was eager to have Chad's help this time around. In a reversal of roles, it was Chad who helped in the pits and watched from the grandstands. And it was Chad who gave Chris the coaching to assure he was one of two cars still running after the first heat, so he could run in the final for the $800 prize.
"In the first heat he told me to drive smart, to keep my cool, you know," Chris said. "He didn't want me to go out there too excited and smash up the car too quick. But we still wanted to put on a good show."
Between the first heat and the final, Chris and Chad and the rest of the pit crew used sledge hammers, arc welders, and lots of demolition derby experience to get the car ready again.
"We had the rear tires rubbing, and we had to bend that up and smash the back end down so I could see out the back," Chris said. "The rest of the car was in pretty good shape. The front end we didn't have to mess with. The passenger side was smashed, but we just took a chance and hoped it would hold up."
Under the glare of generator-powered portable work lights, as hammers pounded and welding sparks flew, big brother shouted to make himself heard. Chris had made it to the finals only once before. The other two times he'd competed, he rolled his car once, and quickly was eliminated in the other outing. This was his moment.
"I was pretty nervous before the final," Chris said. "There were a lot of good cars out there. I was really worried my car wasn't going to hold up to them."
The roar of engines could be heard all over Hillsboro as drivers revved up for the final round. The starters dropped their green flags and mud clods flew hundreds of feet in the air. Cars traveling in reverse sped toward the middle of the muddy arena for the final showdown. Chris punched the gas on the 350 four-barrel engine, putting torque to the wheels of his 1976 Chevrolet Impala, painted maroon with Circle D written on its sides. (Hamm's sponsors were Circle D of Hillsboro, where he works painting trailers, and Those Blasted Signs of Newton, who made the decals for the car).
"Before I knew it everybody was dying out pretty fast," Chris said. "Toward the end there, I wasn't so nervous about it. It was kind of fun going around hitting them. There was only a few left. In my mind, I was trying to use up as much of the car as I could. I wanted to smash it up and finish it off because I knew I wasn't going to use it again, that this was going to be the last time."
The final came down to a dual between two Hillsboro competitors, Hamm, and Chris Franz.
In the clutch, it pays to listen to your big brother.
"I got a lot of coaching last night," Chris said. "Think smart, stay out of the corners and away from the berms. I didn't do very good at that. He told me to keep hitting the axles and the front wheels of the opponents. Because if you hit the front end or back end all it does is smash up both vehicles faster."
In the end, Hamm put Franz out of the running by attacking his front wheels, he said.
The 1976 Chevrolet Impala Chris bought for $500 and turned into a demolition derby car with a group of friends working together two nights a week for the past month and a half in a Whitewater garage, was running so well at the end of the race, Chris could have driven it home to his house on north Cedar Street, he said. As with the strategy that helped win the race, when it came to putting together the winning car, brother Chad was the man in charge.
"My brother has always been good with cars; he went to school to be a mechanic," Chris said. "He got into demolition derby when he was about 17 or 18, so he's been doing it for a long time. I'm still learning the building of the cars, if it wasn't for him I probably wouldn't have had a good car."
Counting the $100 he won for winning his heat, the night's take was $900, enough to recoup the purchase price of the car and pay for gas to drive back and forth to Whitewater. The car was put on a trailer and sent back to Whitewater, under different ownership. Chris said he was giving the car to his brother to say thanks for all the help.
For the foreseeable future, Chris hopes to focus his attention on restoring a 1966 Chevrolet Impala SS he's been keeping under a tarp in his backyard. With its sleek body and distinctive taillights, it's definitely not destined to become a demolition derby car.
As he took a knee next to his project to get a picture with his trophy, he was moving pretty slow. Bruised and battered from car wrecks the night before, soreness was setting in.
With a grin, Chris said, "I'll probably be even more sore tomorrow."
Demolition Derby results
Preliminary Heats
Heat one: Lonnie Hamm and Scott Schultz
Heat two: Chris Frantz and Jason Hamm
Heat three: Jason Bernhardt and Jesse Hamm
Heat four: Chris Hamm and Brian Nickel
Consolation one: Matt Foth and Eric Norstrom
Consolation two: Brad Foth and Matt Farnsworth
Compact Heat: 1. Dean Suderman. 2. Dustin Hendricks. 3. Lloyd Anderson. 4. Mike Duerksen.
Final heat: 1. Chris Hamm. 2. Chris Frantz. 3. Jason Hamm. 4. Lonnie Hamm. 5. Scott Schultz.
Mad Dog Award: Rodney Oursler
