It's a Derby Darling

Parker watching the heats.

Leave your fancy hat and mint julep at home and trade them in for some cowboy boots and a tall tea. Darling it’s that time of year!
The combine derby is an Ohio favorite on the county fair circuit.  There is just something about people sitting in the back of their pickup trucks and filling the grandstand to watch retired combines smash into each other watching smoke and sparks fly.

While there are rules it is a pretty rough sport. It is on my bucket list to drive a combine in a derby someday, kind of ridiculous I know but isn't that what bucket lists are for?

This was a great hit! No worries the drivers
are harnessed in there and wearing helmets.

While I have not driven a derby combine I can only imagine there is an art to maneuvering these large machines in between the concrete guards and around the course and strategizing where you will strike your competitors. It's a lot about the combine holding together but the driver really makes the difference.  They divide the entries into heats (3-4 combines per heat) and the last combine running in a designated time frame is the heat winner. Then anyone who can get their combine up and running again can come out for the final drive for the overall winner. The entries come with a pit crew of people, parts and tires some even have farm service trucks which are capable for most any fix including welding parts back on.

You may be thinking this is a little red neck but I like to call it good old fashioned county fair fun....then again maybe it is a little red neck but I love it and so do my children. Just in case you have never witnessed such an event here is a little taste of the Pickaway County Fair Derby.