Pam Dudding
Contributing writer
What Tim Snider and Daniel Givens started has become a real hit amongst the younger kids at the Demolition Derby in Craig County.
Lawnmowers are being fixed up to be able to take hits, climb up and rev up and the kids are loving it.
With the increased interest, Snider and Givens added seatbelts as a safety necessity to the derby because some kids were popping up out of their seats.
At the Craig County Fairgrounds Fall Derby on October 12, the lawnmower derby had more youngsters than usual.
They were, Dillon Crowder – 38, Holly Givens – “Cowabunga”, Carter Givens – “Wild Thing” Erin Snider – 28 “Hey Shenequa,” Will Huffman – 3 “Mean Green Derby Machine,” Dylan Richardson – 13 “Mountain Ghost”, and Grayson Trivette– 35.
Sammy Huffman, who served as the event emcee, had the spectators to countdown for their start. When the horn blew, not one driver hesitated.
Huffman started by hitting Snider and she returned the gesture. Trivette and C. Givens went bumper to bumper until Trivette flipped over. When that happened, Huffman shouted out, “Get back up on that horse!” Givens didn’t even hesitate to jump back on as the judges turned his mower back over.
Huffman and Snider smiled at each other as they went for more hits.
Givens rammed Huffman and Snider came from behind and hit him. Givens was shifting fast. Huffman and Crowder went front to front in a power war. Huffman spun, and then backed up and rammed Crowder again, which took Crowder out.
Richardson rammed Givens and Givens retaliated. Then Snider rammed Givens and he turned and chased Snider, until they locked and pushed one another back and forth.
It seemed the middle of the ring was the place to be as all the drivers just kept going in and hitting whoever was in their way. Everyone could hear Givens cowbell ringing due to the hits. She and Huffman got tangled up and the judges had to come in and get them loose.
Huffman and C. Givens decided to tangle, until Givens went up on two wheels. Huffman was out.
“These kids last longer than the cars do!” emcee Huffman. “This is turning into a marathon.”
- Givens showed no mercy as he hit H. Givens in the side and then went for Richardson.
Snider was spewing purple smoke, and in turtle mode, but kept going.
Richardson had two flat tires but paid no attention as he continued to fight the steering to get to his opponents, hitting H. Givens and her two front wheels that were damaged, making it difficult for her to steer.
First-place was given to Carter Givens. Erin Snider earned second-place and Dylan Richardson earned third-place. The Mad Dog Award went to Holly Givens. “That was fun,” expressed Givens. While the first-place winner took home $50, $10 was given to both the second and third place competitors. Everyone received a trophy.
When the horn blew and the kids drove out of the ring, the crowd cheered them on.
“I’m proud of you all,” Tim Snider repeated as they smiled, looking up at him with a sense of pride.
