Demolition Derby crashes into Lind

LIND - Overnight the population of Lind exploded. This weekend, the farming town of about 500 drew a crowd of more than 5,000 excited fans to see the clash of titanic metal during Lind's 26th annual Combine Demolition Derby.

"We just happened to be passing through on the right day," said Greg Herst with his wife Sandy, both of Kennewick. "All of a sudden we saw all these truck pulling off and followed them to find all this."

Held at the Lions Club Arena, the derby has been a defining part of Lind history for many years, bringing with it both new fans and old.

Janice Eppenbach, of Stanfield, Ore,. said she has attended the Derby for seven years. She and her husband drive into Lind each year to camp and take in the festivities.

"The first year we came, I didn't know what to expect," Eppenbach said. "But I ended up really liking the races. A few of the trucks turned completely over!"

Since her first experience, Eppenbach said she has witnessed the growth of the event from the installation of a new bleacher to hold the ever-increasing crowds, to the addition of grain truck races to fill the time when combine drivers would repair their machines between heats.

"It's just steadily growing, growing, growing," she said. "It's bigger every year we come."

The derby included not only the main event, combine demolition, but also pickup truck races, a grand parade, a Lion's Club barbecue in the park, and coaster car races for younger drivers at Smart's Hill.

The sudden influx of people to spectate and participate in all these activities, according to Julie Holland, "keeps the community alive."

Holland grew up in Lind and witnessed the shift from an annual rodeo to the current Combine Derby.

"They'd had the rodeo around here for many, many years," Holland said, "But it's just so expensive to bring in rodeo riders and everything that goes into a rodeo. With the derby, most of our drivers have lived here all their lives, so it's easier financially to keep it running."

One of the local drivers, Josh Knodel, is a fourth generation wheat farmer just east of downtown Lind and said he's been directly involved in the derby since he was 16.

"You have to be at least 18 to drive, but I'd been at the derby ever since I was a little kid," Knodel said. "I never missed a one, and we'd build the combine for my dad to drive until we were old enough to do it ourselves."

Once he was able to enter the arena as a driver, Knodel traded control of their combine "Jaws" each year with his friend, Matt Miller. Between the pair, they amassed seven championships.

"After a while, it got to be back to back," Knodel said. "People around here don't forget that kind of thing, so the competition definitely went up from there."

Eventually Knodel became involved in the organizational side of the event, serving as Lions Club president last year, while Miller took over the position this year.

"It used to take us a couple weeks to build the combine," Knodel said, "but this year we did it in a day and a half because we were both busier putting the event on than actually competing."

Their effort created an event which Oregon farmer, Rod Taylor called "one of the coolest things I've ever seen."

"I've heard about it for years now - it's hard to live in the area and not know about it," Taylor said. "This is the first time I've made it down to see it myself, and it was so fun to watch, especially since I'm a farm boy myself."

Another fan turned to ask Taylor if he would bring one of his machines to compete in next year's derby.

"I don't think so," he replied with a chuckle. "They're a little too new, a little too expensive."

Lind Combine Demolition Derby results:

Best Dressed: First place - Jim Oswald; second place - Tyran Doyle; third place - Devin Hamilton.

Heat 1 winner: Jim Oswald

Heat 2 winners: Devin Hamilton, Ed Favilla, Chad Overmyer

Heat 3 winner: Gavin Johnson

Overall champions: First place - Jim Oswald, Brian Jeske; third place - Traven Smith; fourth place - Gavin Johnson