2016 Fair

2016 LOGAN COUNTY FAIR

LINCOLN DAILY NEWS July 29 - August 6, 2016 Page 303

entered in the Compact Class. Michelle Paulus, Miss

Logan County Fair drew the name of Cody Leevey.

Cody came down from the grandstand and was

escorted by Jaron Allen to the pit area for his safety

gear, and possibly a few tips on what to expect on the

track later in the evening.

This heat included at least two lady

drivers, who both did very well on Sunday

night. Also in this class was well known

local attorney Jim Grimaldi in the .08

car. Grimaldi made a few good runs and

hits but went out early in the show. It was

later reported, he will be entering this same

vehicle in several “Redneck” events at the

Illinois State Fair.

In total, there were 18 vehicles in this class,

and the track was full right from the start. With so

many cars, there were often times when the track

looked like a rush hour gridlock, with no one able to

move. This led to a series of bumps and pushes, to get

vehicles out of the way so the top contenders could

make their classic high speed runs in reverse.

As the cars died on the track one-by-one, the area

became much like an obstacle course, and again, some

with the nerve and know-how used their own vehicles

to push the stalled ones out of the way for those high-

speed runs.

When the event was over, there was a lot of carnage

to be disposed of from the track. The big fork lifts

and bucket tractors came in and made quick work of

clearing the track for the next class.

The Compact Class; small cars make for big

entertainment

As stated earlier; the Relay for Life Crash for the

Cure car raffle resulted in Cody Leevey winning an

opportunity to drive a car built by Brad Whiteman

in the Compact Class. Leevey did a great job on the

track and was stopped only when his car died, and he

was unable to restart it.

At the beginning of the heat, again there were

approximately 18 or 19 vehicles on the track and

gridlock followed on a few occasions. With the

smaller size of the cars versus the Bone Stock, there

was a little more “wiggle room” and drivers took

advantage of it to the fullest.

During the heat, the number 43 car was among the

first to be knocked out of the competition. While it is

against the rules to hit a car on the driver’s side door,

there are no rules against pushing the car until it meets

an unmovable object. During the heat, the number

43 took a hard hit to the passenger side and the rear

simultaneously, pushing the car into the concrete

barriers at the front and against a second immovable

object on the driver’s side. The end result was the

already small car became even smaller; pancake

fashion. With numerous safety features as well as

helmets and neck braces, the driver was unharmed,

though he was also more than willing to get out of the

car and watch the rest of the show from the sidelines

when the officials threw the red flag.

Another red flag came out when a small fire broke

out in the engine compartment of the number 33

car. Both the city of Lincoln and the Lincoln Rural

Fire Protection District had trucks and personnel on

hand throughout the evening. The fire was quickly

extinguished, and after the smoke had cleared,

literally, everyone continued to enjoy the heat.

Semi-stock produces a small class for the bigger

cars

The Semi Stock class at the Sunday evening

Demolition Derby hosted seven competitors, including

Brad Whiteman with his Crash for the Cure car.

Whiteman had pledged that he would give proceeds

from the raffle of the Power Wheels, the Compact car

ride, the sale of Crash for the Cure apparel and his

own winnings, if any, in the Semi Stock class, to the

Logan County Relay for Life.

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