Demolition Derby crashes records with huge crowd

2015 Demolition Derby Winners

Semi-Modifieds:
1st - Chris Stidam
2nd - Rusty Newman
3rd - Rick Forest
4th - Justin Dipley

Compacts:
1st - Bobby Arms
2nd - Rusty Newman
3rd - William Stanley
4th - Zack Blair

Modifieds:
1st - Bobby Arms
2nd - Brandon Lane
3rd - Ryan Newman
4th - Rusty Newman

September 16, 2015
Charlea Mills
        Saturday night marked the continuation of the smash-and-crash event that draws a huge crowd to the Bill Hailey Arena in Cassville each year: the Rotary Club’s Demolition Derby. The crowd was the largest turnout in recent memory.
        Derby chairman Chad Yarnall said, “We had the largest attendance and the most participants that we’ve ever had.” This was the 13th year for the annual event.
        This year’s event featured three different events: semi-modifieds, compacts and modifieds. Hometown favorite Rusty Newman, of Cassville, took second place in both the semi-modified category, where he placed behind Washburn’s Chris Stidam, and compact category, as well as battling his way into fourth place in the modified division. His brother, Ryan Newman, took third place in modifieds, just ahead of Rusty.
        As an added excitement, the youngest driver of the night, Zack Blair, 15, of Washburn, snagged the fourth place title in the compacts division. This was Blair’s first competition.
        Oklahoma native Bobby Arms took first in both compacts and modifieds. Arms placed in previous years’ events, as well.
        Rebel Recycling had two drivers this year, Rick Forest and Justin Dipley, who took third and fourth place respectively in the semi-modified division.
        The event was so busy, that the Rotary Club actually ran out of food at the concession stand and began offering alternative parking options before the derby even started at 7 p.m.
        Rotary Club members directed parking, sold tickets, ran the concession and also hosted a raffle for a gun. The winner of the raffle this year was Bob Bochmler, of Bentonville, Ark.
        Cassville Firefighters and South Barry County Ambulance District EMS personnel were on site to deal with any emergencies during the event. Their presence ended up being useful when an electric meter on a power pole shorted out toward the end of the night, causing a small fire that took out some of the spotlights. No one was injured during the incident, and the Cassville Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire quickly.
        Other members of the community also kept the night’s events running smoothly. Hutchens Construction donated a water truck for the arena while Johnnie Cox brought his skid steer and operated it to move cars after the races. Brice’s Towing also provided two tow trucks. Yarnall said, “We really need all of those people to keep things moving quickly and we had many people donate their equipment and time to help out.”
        He continued, “It was a huge success. We are so appreciative of all of the support that the community gives us. Without them, we would just be a bunch of cars smashing each other.”
        Funds raised at the Demolition Derby each year go to support a variety of programs sponsored by the Rotary Club of Cassville, including worldwide vaccination efforts, a dictionary drive for local third grade students, the Don’t Meth With Us anti-drug program for local fifth graders, local college scholarships and others.