‘Sisters’ on a collision course at fair's Demolition Derby

Park County Fair will include two new derby events this year

Posted 7/27/21

Jordan Gibson is looking forward to running into her cousin, Kalina Smith. But first, she has to learn how to drive a stick shift.

Gibson and Smith are entering the Park County Fair’s …

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‘Sisters’ on a collision course at fair's Demolition Derby

Park County Fair will include two new derby events this year

Posted

Jordan Gibson is looking forward to running into her cousin, Kalina Smith. But first, she has to learn how to drive a stick shift.

Gibson and Smith are entering the Park County Fair’s Demolition Derby on Saturday in its first-ever women-only Compact Class. Gibson will be driving a 1976 Toyota Corolla, hoping to put some dents in Smith’s fairly fresh 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser. Both are vying for a big payday, with the class offering up to $1,750 in prize money.

The two are like sisters, they said. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be some angry contact in the arena. 

“I won’t target her, but I don’t believe in team driving either,” Gibson said.

They know each other so well that they know their weaknesses, Smith said. She hopes to take advantage of Gibson’s lack of experience with a clutch.

“Every time she comes to a stop, [her car] is going to die,” Smith said, laughing.

If experience has anything to do with the outcome, Smith has the edge. She ran in a previous derby, but her steering snapped early and it didn’t end well. 

“I could only go forwards and backwards,” she said.

Both have the same ace in the hole: event organizer Don Adams. While many in the sport consider Adams the godfather of the Big Horn Basin Demolition Derby organization, Gibson and Smith just call him their grandfather. The three met at grandpa’s shop two weeks before the big night on July 31 to prepare their cars.

Gibson’s ride has previously seen derby action, but wouldn’t start. Until it turns over, learning to drive a manual transmission has to wait. 

“As soon as I can get it started she’ll have about two weeks to practice,” Adams said.

Smith’s PT Cruiser was running down the road recently and needed to be fully stripped before inspections the day of the event. Working with a bum shoulder made the hard work a little tougher.

The Compact Class — which has been a favorite in the Thermopolis Derby for a few years — is one of two additions for the 2021 derby.

The second new event is a Chain-up Class, offering drivers a chance to run in the derby with a mostly “bone stock” car, Adams said. “We introduced the class so younger drivers and people who don’t have a lot of money or a welder could build a car and still run.”

The class also allows drivers with little spare time to get into the action. Basically, the doors and trunk are chained shut and are ready to roll. The event was first offered in last year’s Smashtoberfest.

“They could have a car ready to go in less than a week,” Adams said.

Four-point cages — to better protect drivers — are allowed this year.

Adams wants to open up the male-dominated sport to more women, though there have been several who have had recent success in the event.

Among several success stories, Powell’s Christeena Murdock took second place in the main event, the Limited Weld Class, at the 2019 Park County Fair. Sherry Senn, also from Powell, won the Truck Class in the 2018 Smashtoberfest, beating her sons Mark and Josh in the process.

Adams is hoping for a big show this year after the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 Demolition Derby.

For Saturday’s event, the gates open at 5 p.m. at the Main Grandstands, with the first class scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. There is more than $13,000 in prize money up for grabs in the fair’s single biggest event.

Gillette’s derby is scheduled for Friday and might result in a couple cars being unable to run the following day in Park County. Meanwhile, the Big Horn County Fair’s derby is scheduled a week later in Basin, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 8.

Park County Fair

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