Tillsonburg’s AJ Hunter competed on his demolition derby home turf at the Tillsonburg Tri-County Fair on Aug. 21.
“No pressure, but these guys…they’re tough,” said Hunter. “I run against these guys quite a bit and they are all tough. They all build tough stuff. But we’re all friends at the end of the day.”
Competing in a minivan final three with Nicholas Wolf of Hamilton and Devon Germain of Port Colborne, Hunter finished second in his first van demolition derby of 2022.
His entry, sponsored by Advanced Automotive and Clearview Auto Glass Tillsonburg, stood out with ‘Most Hated’ painted on the side of the van.
“In 2019, I ran in 21 van derbies (across Ontario) and won every one of them. So I’ve become hated,” said Hunter, who used nine vans in total in 2019.
“I run nothing but vans.”
His Tillsonburg fair van would be ‘retired,’ he said, after it lost all power during the derby.
“Computer or something broke. It’s done, time to build another one. It’ll take about a week – lots of man hours.”
Hunter had the August 28 Woodstock Fair on his derby schedule, followed by Thorndale, Ilderton and more. He expected to compete in about 15 derbies this year.
Germain, winner of the 2022 Tillsonburg fair van derby, said his 2005 Dodge Caravan still had some life in it.
“I think there’s another run in it,” said Germain after loading his trailer. “Pull some sheet metal out and it’ll be good to go again. She’s mint. Tie the door on maybe.”
A 12-year derby veteran, Germain recalls having a tremendous run in 2018 in several categories, including the popular compact cars.
“I think it was 2018, I won everything I ran,” said Germain. “I got really lucky that year.”
The key to success, he said, is ‘drive backwards all day.’ That strategy was hammered home in Tillsonburg – the rear of his van crumpled in.
“Do not use the front because there’s not much to them. But I was confident it was still going to be strong in the back. Honestly, it’s just the body that’s damaged, the frame itself is pretty straight. The front is the weak spot.
“I’m such an adrenaline junkie I can’t seem to calm myself. I’ll just keep going until it’s over, but today I noticed when I made that one hit, the guy who got second place (Hunter) lost all power. That’s when I knew I had a solid chance. I kept going for the front end because I knew I had it.”
The Aug. 21 derby by Edge Motorsports included stock compact demos and figure eight racing.
Norfolk County Fair Championships are Oct. 10 at 6 pm in Simcoe with classes in stock compact, stock full size, and pro stock full size.