Despite not even knowing he would be competing until the day of the event, Bobby Rutledge of Dixon pulled off a surprising victory in the 49th Annual Stanislaus County Fair Demolition Derby inside the Food Maxx Arena on Monday night.

Always one of the most popular events at the fair, Monday’s program was the first of two nights of derby competition put on once again by the Turlock Lions Club with the proceeds funding a variety of worthy local charities.

The biggest story of the night, however, wasn’t the normal slam-banging, metal-crunching action in the arena, but rather the lack of action in the pits beforehand.

Normally a beehive of activity, the pits were eerily quiet, with only six cars filling the vast workspace. In comparison, in the past couple of years, the event drew 27 entries.

“Several of the veteran drivers retired, some don’t like the rules, and there are too many fair derbies in competition with each other,” explained Turlock’s Carl Mikkelsen, who has been affiliated with the derby as a fan, competitor, and official for over 40 years. “I’ve seen this coming. It has gotten so expensive, the veteran guys have gotten old, the kids don’t care, and it is hard to find the cars now. Years ago, you used to stumble over them.”

Troy Lea, a longtime participant and promoter of the derby, was optimistic about this year’s derby despite the disappointing car count.

“It is still gonna be a good show even with six cars; I can promise you that. You’ve got to do the best you can with what you have, and I think the fans will understand that,” said Lea, a Turlock native who now resides in Ceres. “We will break everything in our cars, and we will junk them just to put on a great show for the fans.”

The Holt family, based in Oakdale, has become synonymous with the Turlock Derby over the last 40 years, with multiple family members, spanning three generations, posting over 15 victories there. This year, seven-time derby champion Brian Holt, aka “The Undertaker,” along with his sons Nathan and Joshua, comprised half of the field.

Earlier in the day, with concerns mounting over the number of cars that would be competing that night, the family salvaged an extra car they had available and hastily began to prepare it for competition later that night. Rutledge, age 32 of Dixon, who was originally planning on being a technical inspector for the event, volunteered to drive it.

“We threw in an engine and had about three hours to prep the car. It has no brakes and no steering, so this should be pretty interesting,” he joked beforehand.

Doug Holt, a former multi-time winner of the derby, once again acting as the announcer for the night’s activities, kept the large crowd that filled the grandstands entertained throughout the night.

“You know how enraged you can be when someone cuts you off on the freeway and you just want to get even with them?” Holt asked the crowd at one point, “Well, here you get to smash and crash into them as many times as you can…and you don’t even get in trouble for it!”

The evening kicked off with Sarah Snyder providing a beautiful a cappella rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” much to the delight of the crowd.

Due to the low car count, the traditional heats before the main event were scratched, and in their place an impromptu ten-lap race was set up and it provided as much door-banging, side-swiping action as any NASCAR short track race. Nathan Holt, who celebrated the birth of his new baby girl Charlotte by adorning the side of his car with her name, took the checkered flag in the race.

Following some prep to the arena by the water truck, it was time for the main event.

What the six-car field lacked in size, it made up for in action. With plenty of room to maneuver, the competitors were able to strategically zigzag around the arena while setting up their victims. Multiple metal-crunching, direct hits had the crowd roaring in approval throughout the contest that lasted about 25 minutes.

With nothing but heaps of twisted metal left spewed all around the arena, which were now almost unrecognizable as cars, it was up to the officials to determine the winners. Drivers were judged by the number of hits they delivered, the severity of the damage those hits inflicted, and their ability to remain active until the conclusion of the round.

After a short deliberation, Rutledge was pronounced as the winner, with Brian Holt and Lea rounding out the top three.

“I have never run here in Turlock, and I have always wanted to, so I guess this is a pretty good start to my career here,” said Rutledge, who earned the $5,000 first-place purse for his efforts. “Brian had the best car out here, so I kept my head on a swivel, looking out for him and trying to stay close to him so he couldn’t get any long shots at me. I tried to save the car as best as I could, and it ended up working out.”