Combine mayhem in Lind, co-champions declared

by Tony Vehrs<br>Herald Sports Reporter
| June 11, 2007 9:00 PM

Knodel, Humphrey share title at 20th annual Demolition Derby event

LIND — While the skies managed to hold back on the rain that threatened to soak the Lind Combine Demolition Derby for a second straight year, 15 daring drivers held nothing back as they smashed, bashed and crashed their combines until there were just two machines left standing.

When the dust had settled and the officials called an end to the derby, drivers Josh Knodel and Matt Humphrey were declared co-champions of the 20th annual Lind Combine Demolition Derby.

Preliminary heats whittled the field of 15 down to just seven combines for the main event, setting up an exciting finish featuring only the toughest and most durable machines.

Early in the main event, Humphrey's Frankenbine machine and the Runnin' Elephant of Aaron Reimer ganged up on Knodel's Jaws machine. The two managed to tear the rear wheels off the Jaws combine, but it would do little to slow down Knodel's John Deere 6602 combine.

Brian Jeske's Hillybilly Deluxe, tied up on the other side of the arena with several other crippled machines, broke loose to challenge the other three drivers for the derby title. The four drivers went back and forth, at times pairing off for head-to-head battle and at other times piling together in a melee of mangled metal.

Remier's machine, which at the time had the only operational rear wheel of the four machines in contention and looked like it was in position to win the derby, suddenly suffered mechanical failure and was eliminated from the derby.

Jeske's combine bowed out soon after, as severe damage rendered it unable to make contact with another combine and forced a disqualification.

With just Knodel and Humphrey left in the running, the two drivers lined up their combines and went head to head hoping to deliver the winning hit. Neither driver able to cripple the other's machine, derby officials called an end to the contest, but only after some outside consultation.

According to Knodel, the race officials asked the fathers of both drivers if they thought the derby should continue or if it should be ruled a tie. After seeing Knodel and Humphrey deliver increasingly harder hits to each other with no apparent effect on their combines, the dads decided the derby should end in a tie. Officials concurred, and the derby was called.

Afterward, the two drivers congratulated each other on a well-run derby and then met with friends and family who gathered in the arena near where the combines ended their runs.

In addition to the traditional combine demolition derby, grain truck and pickup truck races were held in the intermission between the preliminary heats and the main event.

The grain trucks put on a surprisingly agile race around the arena, while the pickup trucks staged a wild affair that looked more like a scene out of the Road Warrior than an organized race.

As always, fans left satisfied with the show and looking forward to next year's event.