WELLINGTON — Imagine driving like a bat out of Hades with destruction on your mind. Well, that’s exactly the goal of the wildly popular demolition derby, which as always will close out the 164th Lorain County Fair on Sunday.

“It’s an unexplainable rush,” said participant Henry Leonardi.

That’s because the demo derby has it all, said Ed Nowak, the fair superintendent in charge of the event.

“It’s ageless — they love to see them crash,” Nowak said of the crowds. “I loved to go to the demolition derby when I was a kid — it’s as popular today as it was back then.”

This year you will see plenty of crashes because there are almost 140 competitors, some from out of Lorain County and even out of the state.

“For the first time in the history of the Lorain County Fair, we opened up who could participate,” Nowak said.

Check out a slideshow from past years’ demolition derbies:

He said he opened up the field when initial entries appeared low this year. In other counties, some demo derbies are hurting for competitors, but he is satisfied with the number of participating drivers once the field was broadened to beyond Lorain County. Nowak said he does not know if this is among the biggest fields ever.

The derbies — there are two of them each year — are set for 6 and 8:30 p.m. Sunday. There are three heats per show, plus a special demo derby for compact cars each show.

Year after year, the derby attracts competitors who enjoy the rush, he said.

People in the crowd also have their favorites, he said.

“It’s like a rock concert — they have their following,” he said.

The competition does sometimes go a bit overboard, Nowak said.

For example, the intense rivalry between groups known as the Grafton Lynch Mob and Henrietta Hillbillies is legendary — both enter a bunch of cars and do well, but Nowak said, the fair board tries to discourage such collaborations because of the potential for trouble on and off the arena.

Rivalries aside, the competition isn’t an easy one in which to participate.

Three pages of rules on the fair’s Web site clearly list do’s and don’ts, but that doesn’t mean participants don’t try to bend the rules, according to Nowak.

Some modifications are allowed under fair rules, but unscrupulous competitors have tried all kind of tricks that aren’t, such as filling portions of their cars with concrete to make them more dangerous to other competitors.

The fair is used to the tricks and cheaters should beware, he said.

“We drill a hole in the frame and look up there with a camera,” Nowak said.

Also, those who deliberately try to smash into the driver’s door or other “no-no’s” are tossed out of the competition by spotters in the towers and on the ground, he said.

In the years since it was introduced, the derby’s popularity has grown with a new group of drivers: teen-age girls and women. And, Nowak said, there is money to be made if you are a skilled driver and have a measure of luck.

It costs just $15 to enter, but winners of the heats take home $700.

And, despite all the crashing and bashing, injuries usually are limited to bumps and bruises. The worst that has happened was several years ago, when one woman suffered a broken arm, Nowak said.

Demolition derby rules

• Participants must have a driver’s license and those under age 18 must have the permission of a parent or guardian.
• Any stock type auto may be used, but no trucks, taxis, hearses, convertibles or Chrysler Imperials older than 1967 are permitted.
• An engine swap is allowed. If broken, the body mount may be repaired – not to exceed the original factory specifications. Holes may be cut in the firewall by the distributor. However, the holes must be covered with light metal. All vehicles will be inspected to ensure compliance.
• Car doors shall be chained or welded. There are no restrictions on the driver’s door. All other doors may have no more than two 2-inch by 6-inch straps welded over seam of door jam. If chain is used, keep the length of chain short. You may weld or bolt a piece of 2-inch diameter pipe with flat stock no more than 6-inch by 6-inch welded to end of pipe to inside of door or door post. Hoods must have a 12-inch hole cut in the middle to allow for quick extinguishing of fires. All cars will use a quick type hood pin release system in the front of the hood. Pins are not to be longer than 12 inches and are to be attached to core support.
• All glass windows except windshields will be removed from the vehicle, not broken out. Remove all chrome strips, door handles, metal & plastic insignias, grills, parking & taillight frames, and all debris.
• Drivers must wear a helmet & eye protection while in competition. Seat belts shall be left in stock mountings. Shoulder belt may be added.
• Stock gas tanks must be removed from the car. A steel commercially produced or homemade gas can, not capable of holding more than 5 gallons of gasoline shall be mounted in the center rear of the passenger compartment.
• All hoods and trunks must open completely at time of inspection. After inspection, trunks and tailgates may be secured by two short chains, one on either side. The chains may go around the bumper. The tailgate position is optional, but must be secured in place.
• Radiators must be left in stock position. Remove anti-freeze. There should be no structural strengthening of the car.
  New this year is a requirement that a 24-inch by 24-inch plaque should be mounted on the center of the roof area with the car number.
• Suspensions shall remain strictly stock with no coil to leaf conversions. Shocks and springs shall remain stock. Coil spring cars may use wire or small amount of weld at the base of the spring to keep the springs from coming out of the vehicle at impact. No other modifications may be made to the underside such as frame switching or subframe trading.
• Vehicle bumpers must be the same as the make and size of the vehicle they are on. GM to GM, Ford to Ford, Chrysler to Chrysler, Compact to Compact, Full Size to Full Size, and so on.
• Complete set of rules are at www.loraincountyfair.com.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

The Lorain County Fair is synonymous with farm animals, amusement rides and delicious, guilty foods.

What you might not imagine are beautiful stained glass works, decorative candy dishes, funky votive candle holders, distinctive root beer mugs and fanciful fish bowls.

Eleven members of the Pitchfork Pals 4-H club entered self-determined projects in glass painting this year.

Each year, Amy Jackson, co-adviser of the Pitchfork Pals, gathers her members and asks what projects they would like to work on. In the past, they’ve done everything from cake decorating and candy making to creating pottery and doing card stamping. Next year, the group will be freezing and canning and learning to make jelly and jam.

Along with glass painting, the Pitchfork Pals also did self-determined projects of scrapbooking and candle making this year.

Kyle Kudela, 12, decided to take part in the Pitchfork Pals’ glass painting project because the Firelands Middle School student “thought it would be different and fun.”

He enjoyed going to the stores and comparison shopping for materials, as well as the actual painting. His favorite piece? The stained glass.

“We got to choose the colors we wanted to stain on there, and it made it really cool,” he said. “Mine has lots of designs like squiggly lines, boxes and squares.”

His favorite self-determined project was one he did two years ago that dealt with electricity, but this one gave him a charge, too. He said he may just have finished his Christmas shopping early.

Kyle said he might give his mom a few of the pieces he made as gifts.

Emma Northeim, 14, agreed that working on the glass pieces was a lot of fun. She particularly liked making the root beer mug, which has her name on it and “lots of polka dots.”

“We got to paint how we wanted and it didn’t matter what it looked like because it was our own,” Emma said when asked why she enjoyed the project.

The Firelands High School freshman has done a self-determined project just about every year she has been in 4-H. While she doesn’t have a favorite project, the mug is definitely high on the list, she said. She plans on keeping it to use after the fair.

Her other work may be gifted to some lucky family members.

Haley Strong, 14, also intends on keeping the mug she made, but she isn’t sure if she’ll use it. With pink, yellow and orange polka dots, the piece may just end up being a decoration.

Like Emma, Haley does a self-determined project every year. But unlike Haley, the Firelands High School freshman does have a favorite — scrapbooking.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” she says. “You can do whatever you want.”

Judging for the competition takes place Aug. 21. Winning items will be on display in the 4-H Home Economics booth and in another 4-H barn.

Other pieces also will go up for sale at the dairy auction held Aug. 28 and at the 4-H Endowment Auction held at a later date.

The money raised from the sales will go to the respective groups.

Contact Christina Jolliffe at 329-7155 or ctnews@chroniclet.com.

With comfortable temperatures and cloudless skies, you couldn’t have asked for better weather Monday night for former Alabama singer and current solo artist Randy Owen’s Lorain County Fair grandstand show in Wellington.

Even though it’s been six years since Alabama’s swan-song tour, the singer didn’t show any rust with a set filled with plenty of familiar tunes and a new song from his 2008 debut solo album, “One On One.” His show kicked off in grand fashion with the Alabama hit “If You’re Gonna Play In Texas (You Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band).” The up-tempo tune featured honky tonk keys, a lively fiddle and a hot guitar, which took the audience back to his Alabama years.

“We’re here because we’re from Wellington, and that’s what you do: you go to the fair,” said Shara Brosius, who saw Alabama at its height of fame in the 1980s at the old Richfield Coliseum. “It’s in your DNA. And Randy Owen was one of the reasons too. We spent all day here. He still sounds like Alabama. He hasn’t changed a lot.”

Added her longtime friend and Wellington resident Dorothy Shaw, “He’s loud.”

For his next track, the engaging singer-guitarist, who at times belied his age (57, if you’re scoring at home) by jumping all over the groove, turned up the rock with Alabama’s “Tennessee River.” In fact, it was pretty much all Alabama all the time, including the sing-along “Born Country” and the ballad “Old Flame.” The latter included an interlude to raise money for charity by allowing audience members who donated cash to get on stage and sing a line.

Owen led his group to 21 gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums with 42 No. 1 singles. Naturally there were plenty of tunes to pick from. So why not play the tunes? The audience sure didn’t seem to mind.

That was the case with the crowd singing “Songs Of The South” loud and proud. With the stage presence of a Music City professional, Owens kept the audience entertained with solid vocals, friendly banter and plenty of name-checking celebrities. He told stories about Dale Earnhardt Sr., Conway Twitty and Dolly Parton. The “9 to 5″ singer was mentioned before he performed the mid-tempo “Holding Everything,” which was written by Parton and is found on Owen’s solo album.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening was the empty seats, with only three-quarters of the venue filled. The economy even affects the fair. Still, those who came out enjoyed a fun dose of “Mountain Music.”

The show started off in an unexpected delayed fashion with one of Owen’s band members arriving late. In a pinch, his guitarist Wade Hayes, who enjoyed marginal Nashville success in the ’90s, actually opened the show. On a whim, the singer-guitarist delivered a solid, albeit brief, set performing material such as his No. 1 hit “Old Enough to Know Better,” the upbeat “Don’t Stop” and the ballad “The Day That She Left Tulsa (in a Chevy).”

Contact John Benson at 329-7155 or ctnews@chroniclet.com.