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Smashing sendoff: Derby event completes this year’s 2026 County Fair

Derby event completes this year’s 2026 County Fair

Yet another busy Sunday greeted the Chautauqua County Fair for this year's Demolition Derby final.

This year featured six heats: Youth Wire Compact, Wire Compact, Pro Stock Compact, Most Wanted Fine Art (MWFA), Head-on Full Size and Motor Swap Full Size.

The biggest change for the event this year was the movement of the track itself. Laying of new stone around the outer rim of the track moved the demo to the center area where the grass was.

Some attendees did not like the change of location, seeing as it took away from the possibility of getting hit with mud, which has always made it a more interactive event. The viewing angles for the event itself, with it now being in the center, was also somewhat limited as stone barricades around the entire pit made some viewing hard on people.

The first event, Youth Wire Compact, saw 15 entrants with Carter Pendra of Lackawanna claiming the top prize. Zayne Perry of Fredonia placed second, Andrew Adams of Centerville came in third and Angelina Haskell of North Collins took home the coveted Mad Dog, which is the most aggressive car on the track clocking the most hits.

The second heat, Wire Compact gave the biggest competition of the evening with 36 hopefuls.

The event saw Craig Bedell of Dunkirk take home the top spot, with Dylan Haniszewski of Lancaster and Troy Wright of Cattaraugus placing second and third respectively; Kahne Wilcox of Clymer claimed Mad Dog.

Next round saw MWFA take to the track, this highly anticipated event features any type of car from 1980 on up in its most stock form. It is a total carnage round and is designed to be fun.

This event had 24 entries. Of them Joe Keller Jr. of Clarence came in first, Tyler Haniszewski of Lancaster took second, Evan King of Cattaraugus came in third and Bryce Hawes of Clarence grabbed up Mad Dog.

Head-on Full Size was up next with only five cars. Todd Ellman of Dunkirk winning top billing, followed by Chad Glazier of Sheridan in second and Jason Garland of Lake View third; Glazier also achieved Mad Dog.

Motor Swap Full Size was a rousing affair and saw a brief halt to the event when a nasty hit ended up with one driver being taken from the track on a stretcher to an ambulance. Luckily things seemed to be OK as the ambulance did not head to the hospital; the event resumed not long after.

This round featured 10 entrants with Alex Paluch of Dunkirk coming in first, Nate Smith of Forestville second and Ellman third.

The final event was the Pro Stock Compact. Fourteen people entered this round and ended with Tyler Haniszewski of Akron grabbing first, Nick Haniszewski of Lancaster second and Corey Near of Dunkirk third; Nick Haniszewski took home Mad Dog.

In total the Derby ran a full 3 ½ hours.