Blaine Tuller of Derby escaped the fiery remains of his car at the demolition derby during the Orleans County Fair in Barton on Sunday — but not without injury. Fire Captain Ron Hoyt of the Orleans Village Fire Department was the first firefighter to respond to the burning car but was quickly joined by others who contained the blaze. The intense gasoline-fueled fire caused second- and third-degree burns along his right arm, first-degree burns to his right leg, and flash burns along his face, said his mother, Debbie Tuller, on Monday. The heat of the fire completely incinerated his seatbelt and the webbing of his helmet, she said. “It’s too early to tell if he’ll need skin grafts,” said Ms. Tuller, “but he’s looking at missing a month of work if not more while he recovers.” Mr. Tuller escaped the car by climbing out of his driver’s side window, entering into the number 54 car of Megan Guyer of Tilton, New Hampshire, and climbing out through Ms. Guyer’s open windshield. Photo by Richard Creaser
BARTON — Rarely has there been as romantic a demolition derby as Sunday’s event at the Orleans County Fair.
In the four-cylinder feature event, a boyfriend and girlfriend tied for first place.
Kevin Chamberlain of Rutland hopped out of his Plymouth Acclaim, which by then had lost its Homer Simpson doll from the roof, and grabbed his girlfriend Deana Blais and kissed her.
“I was so proud of her,” Mr. Chamberlain said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
Mr. Chamberlain is a student at Keene State in New Hampshire, studying safety technology. He loves crashing cars so much he hopes to make a
Kevin Chamberlain of Rutland kisses his girlfriend Deana Blais of North Troy after the two tied for first place in the four-cylinder demolition derby feature event on Sunday at the fairgrounds in Barton. Photo by Bethany M. Dunbar
career of it by becoming a stunt car driver. He said maybe someday the guy crashing the car in the movie that’s supposed to be Mel Gibson will really be him.
Anyone who saw the four-cylinder feature would have to remark on the amazing stubbornness of the little yellow Chevrolet Cavalier painted with flying pigs and driven by Ms. Blais, which refused to quit despite its completely misshapen appearance. A small yellow lump with wheels that seemed perpendicular to the car itself was all that was left in the end. It kept seeming to die. Yet it kept starting up again and kept making hits.
Demo rules say it’s not enough to keep running; drivers must keep making hits in order to continue in the competition. And hit they did, for ten minutes after the other last car had died they kept on hitting each other. Finally the announcer said two more minutes, and if there is no clear winner it will be called a draw. And despite both their efforts, a draw it was.
“I’ve actually been doing it for five years, but it was only her second time,” said Mr. Chamberlain. “I did my first demo at 15 and I won.”
He had Homer with him then and has kept Homer as a lucky mascot ever since.
The third place driver in the four-cylinder feature was Scott Perry of Derby.
Stacey Mayhew of Newport Center gets congratulated after winning the main event at the demolition derby during the Orleans County Fair on Sunday. Photo by Bethany M. Dunbar
The winner of the main event, the eight-cylinder feature, was Stacey Mayhew of Newport Center, who triumphantly jumped on top of his car after the win (as is the tradition) and smashed his helmet into the roof of his orange station wagon, which happened to be decorated with the Tasmanian devil. Second in the eight-cylinder event was Tim Hunt of Derby, and third was Richard LaClair of Glover.
The “Crunch Bunch” — Leroux brothers and friends — made an amazing showing as their signature yellow cars seemed to be everywhere in the final hours of a long day of crunching.
Called by some a redneck rodeo, the derby is always a highlight of the fair. Dozens of competitors lined up for each of the trial heats that ran all afternoon. The pit area seemed to be acres and acres of brightly painted and prepped old vehicles. In the time when the announcer allowed drivers to do some work to get ready for the main event, fine-tuning could be seen and heard in the form of sledge hammers and large burly men jumping on trunks to try to bend them down enough to see out the back window.
Cars were painted with names of sponsors, friends and loved ones, peace symbols, smiley faces, targets, dragons, and slogans like “Redneck Express,” “Hit this Geo,” “Fear this,” “Thanks Dad and Mom,” and “Right now I wish I was in a Dodge.”
Adrenaline soaring as engines revved, the gladiators of the twisted metal stallions of Orleans County proved again that a crowd loves nothing
Slogans like “Hit this Geo” and the names of businesses and loved ones took their place on demo cars along with flags and Homer Simpson. Photo by Bethany M. Dunbar
better than a good battle. The newly renovated grandstand was filled nearly to capacity almost all afternoon and evening. Clods of dirt spewing into the stands, the whine of the engines, and the blue haze of exhaust fumes only added to the overall excitement of the experience.
Unfortunately this year’s battle was marred by two incidents when drivers were hurt. In one case, a driver suffered burns when his car burst into flames. In another case, a driver’s leg was hurt. Orleans firefighters pried open the jammed car door, and she had to be taken out by the ambulance.
The driver of the car that burned was Blaine Tuller of Derby, who suffered second- and third-degree burns. At press time, information about the other injured driver was not available.
Those brave and sturdy enough for another attempt head to the Caledonia County Fair this weekend, and winners from around the state can enter state competition in Rutland later in the season.
Firefighters and ambulance workers load an injured driver onto a stretcher to be taken to the hospital Sunday afternoon. Details were not available at press time. Photo by Bethany M. Dunbar
You can bet that Mr. Chamberlain and Ms. Blais will make it a date.
