Demo day two brings more action
CJ Johnson, center, won the 80’s Demo. He posed with Miss Moses Lake Roundup Brianna Kin Kade, left, and Brandon Douglass, right, when he received his trophy.
REBECCA PETTINGILL/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
During the derby, several cars rolled or tipped over. However, no driver appeared to be seriously injured.
Dirt sprayed the crowd as cars rounded corners on the track and grazed the barrier.
CJ Johnson who won the ’80s Demo, stands atop his car holding the final race flag celebrating his win.
MOSES LAKE — The Northwest Ag Demolition Derby wrapped up day two on Wednesday, its final day of crashing, smashing and rolling at the Moses Lake Roundup Arena.
Those whose cars survived day one returned to the arena for day two along with some new faces. With a few more tipped cars than the day before, the derby saw some familiar-faced winners and a few new to success.
The winner of the ’80s demo, Christopher Johnson of Moses Lake, has been doing the demo derby for at least four years.
“It feels extremely good,” Johnson said. “I’ve been close a few times but never number one, never the trophy.”
Until now.
The 32-year-old said this isn’t the end of his derby career, even though it will be for his car he won with this year. He said he will take all the usable parts he can off of it and start over with a new vehicle.
“I don’t know if there’s a trick. I think it's just you just gotta drive, keep moving, and you got to take your shots when you can,” said Johnson. “Until you’re in the car, it's just really hard to explain what it's like to be out there running. There’s so many noises and things happening that you think the car is falling apart but as long as you’re moving.”
He tries to participate in both the Moses Lake demo and the one in Othello every year.
“I try to support the local shows,” Johnson said. “I live in Moses Lake so Moses Lake’s my home town show. It's the one I always watched as a kid, it’s the one I remember the most.”
Johnson wanted to make sure to thank the Moses Lake Roundup for putting on the show.
Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.
Derby Day Two Results:
Heat One: Alberto Cruz
Heat Two: Cody Eilers
Heat Three: Thomas Pruneda
Heat Four: Levi Runnion
Heat Five: Weslee Kriete
Heat Six: Sara Myers
Heat Seven: Jeremy Lefave
Heat Eight: Trenton Dorsing
Heat Nine: Cameron Smith
Heat Ten: James Baker
Heat Eleven: Terry Collins
Figure Eight: Dallas White
Powder Puff One: Heidi Larsen
Powder Puff Two: Meagan Karstetter
Powder Puff Three: Brianna Daniels
Powder Puff Four: Robbie Rubio
Australian Pursuit One: Ties between Riley Miller and Brennan Olson
Australian Pursuit Two: Tie between Jason Anderson and Evan Mahn
Australian Pursuit Three: Tie between Shephard Prentice and Thomas Pruneda
Australian Pursuit Four: Chad Palmer
Australian Pursuit Five: Tie: Garrett Widme & Terry Collins
Winners Race: Thomas Pruneda
’80s Demo:
First Place - Christopher “CJ” Johnson
Second Place - Tanner Pugh
Third Place - Cody Vanderweigh
Mad Dog Winner (most aggressive) - Graham Barker
