Demolition derby Sunday at DuPage Co. Fair

"When the green flag drops, get out there and hit somebody. Hard."

That's the advice International Demolition Derby owner Dennis Nelson offers the roughly 40 competitors signed up to wreck their cars in Sunday's demolition derby and collect their share of a $3,000 purse at the DuPage County Fair in Wheaton.

In a contest where drivers intentionally and repeatedly crash their cars into one another, often rear end to front end, until there is only one vehicle left running, Nelson said three elements come into play: strategy, durability of the car and driver's luck.

"Most drivers employ the strategy of using their rear end to smash the front of other cars to keep their radiators intact because once that engine gets hot, it won't want to run," Nelson said. "As for cars, the bigger the better, so there's more room between the driver and the wheels and the radiator.

"And the luck, well that's left up to the drivers."

The less luck drivers have, the more the crowds go wild and cheer for more.

"We do 27 derbies a year and, whether the fans are 8 or 80, everybody loves the derby," Nelson said. "Most of your crowd is looking for big hits because people just love to see (stuff) get tore up. The more wrecks we have, the more people love it, so we have to keep the cars as safe as possible."

Derby rules require doors to be welded shut, the gas tank to be moved into the back seat area and the battery into the passenger compartment. All glass also must be removed from the vehicles.

As for the rules, drivers cannot intentionally hit another driver's side door, drivers must hit another car within 60 seconds and, in standard derbies, drivers can't weld additional steel or metal onto their cars.

"That would just be out and out cheating," Nelson said.

The derby, which begins at 7 p.m. Sunday at the grandstand, will include events in four different classes: vans and trucks, full-size, mid-size and compact cars. Prizes and trophies will be awarded in each category.

Local drivers can enter the derby for $20 as late as Sunday afternoon at the fairgrounds, 2015 W. Manchester Road, Wheaton.

Demolition derby

When: 7 p.m. Sunday, July 26

Where: Grandstand at the DuPage County Fair, 2015 W. Manchester Road, Wheaton

Cost: Free with admission

Details: Drivers can register through Sunday afternoon for $20

Info: (630) 668-6636 or dupagecountyfair.org

More coverage inside: A look at the county fair talent show and a complete schedule of weekend events

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