Traditional Turmoil Destruction Derby
*Results from July 11
Heat 1
First place — #77 Troy Lea, of Turlock
Second place — #31 Brian Holt, of Modesto
Third place — #49 Chris Camp, of Denair
Heat 2
First place — #11 Mark Cabral, of Turlock
Second place — #3 Fred Neto, Jr., of Turlock
Third place — #48 Anthony Hicks, of Turlock
Final
First place — #12 Tony Silveira, of Denair
Second place — #77 Troy Lea, of Turlock
Third place — #48 Anthony Hicks, of Turlock
Fourth place — #34 Josh Holt, of Modesto
Motor Home Class C
First place — #14 Greg Mathews, of Ceres
Second place — #3 Lloyd Gleaves, of Ceres
Third place — #34 Karlie Rosario, of Beaumont
It took Denair’s Tony Silveira 16 years to win for the first time, but only one year to do it again as the veteran driver claimed his second consecutive victory in Monday’s “Traditional Turmoil” Destruction Derby, presented by the Turlock Lions Club, in the Food Maxx Arena at the Stanislaus County Fair.
This year’s format split the field of 20 cars into two equal heats with the top three cars from each heat, plus any of the remaining cars that could be repaired, advancing to the finals.
The two heats produced several big hits as each driver attempted to inflict as much harm as possible on their opponents while minimizing the damage to their own car. Turlock’s Troy Lea and Mark Cabral were declared the winners of their respective heats, which are judged by the amount and severity of hits delivered by each driver.
“It was a hard hitting heat and we were able to pick our shots pretty well. I did let one guy get me too hard in the corner, but I think it will buff out,” said Lea, a two-time runner up in 20 years of competing at the fair. “Our strategy is that if you are the hitter, you are not going to get hit.”
This year’s field included two women drivers, Toni Cordell and Christine Medeiros both of Turlock, in what is traditionally a male-dominated event.
“The guys have been really good to us. They have given me a lot of help,” said Cordell, a rookie in the main event after competing in Tuesday’s Powder Puff derby the last two years. “It is a whole different ball game with these boys tonight. It is intense. People are all here to win it and so am I.”
A total of 14 cars were able to make it back into the arena for the hard hitting final.
The crowd roared its approval on each of the thunderous hits that were coming in rapid fire all around the arena floor including a couple of severe shots that caused the K-wall to move out several feet.
The event was red flagged for several minutes to allow firemen and paramedics to attend to Medeiros after one particularly vicious hit. Luckily, Medeiros was able to walk away — unhappy but unhurt.
As car after car became disabled, the competition eventually boiled down to a head to head duel between Lea and Silveira. The two went at it for several minutes looking for a decisive knockout blow before the siren sounded to end the contest.
The two drivers congratulated each other as the judge’s decision was announced giving Silveira the victory.
“This was a hard-hitting event tonight. I wasn’t real confident because it really wasn’t running that good in the heat,” confessed an exhausted Silveira. ”We just tried to keep going and not get stuck in a corner. It was barely moving at the end.”
Lea was pleased with his effort despite just missing out on the win once again.
“My car was hurt. The last five minutes I was holding the ground cable to the battery with my hand to keep it running.” explained Lea. “I was just hanging on at that point and trying to last as long as I could so I couldn’t be happier with second.”
A crowd pleasing six vehicle RV derby following the main event which left the arena littered with more debris than the parking lot after a Kenny Chesney concert. Greg Mathews, of Ceres, outlasted his brother Dave to claim first prize.
