Many children followed in the footsteps of their parents Thursday night at the Carbon County Fair’s 17th annual youth demolition derby.

Sponsored by Old School Promotions, derbies at the fair consist of a variety of classes including small car, large car, stock car and youth midsized car competitions. They also host a junk car race as well.

Company owner Tim Strohl said they host demolition derbies and junk car races in not only the local area, but also in venues as far away as New Jersey.

Ultimately the goal of the demolition derby is to drive into competitors and stall their cars until they can no longer run. The last car remaining wins.

Competitors ensure their safety during the event by wearing protective helmets and gear as well as removing glass from their cars so that they do not get cut.

First-place prizes for adult classes ranged from $600-$1,000 depending on the class of the vehicle. For youth competitors, first place received $350, second place received $100 and third place received $50.

Strohl explained that participants spent countless hours on their vehicles to secure a win.

This rang true for even the youngest participants in the competition as boys and girls ages 12-15 nervously prepared for the youth derby.

For 13-year-old Kyleigh Nugent, it was her first time competing in a demolition derby after years of watching her father, Ronnie Nugent, compete.

“It looked like a lot of fun and I wanted to get in on the action,” Nugent said.

Her car was No. 27, a 2007 Chevy Cobalt with a barebone stock and front bumper welded on.

“It’s her first derby and we wanted to keep it simple,” explained her father.

Nugent credited her dad for helping her get the car ready, also noting that she had to mentally prepare as well.

“Well I had the help of my dad building the car. I test drove it and mentally prepared to get crashed into.”

Nugent noted that she had three goals going into the derby: “Don’t get stuck up against the wall, hope for the best and have fun.”

She concluded by expressing her excitement for the competition and that if it went well, she also had a second derby lined up for Halloween weekend in Maryland.

The youth competition consisted of nearly 20 participants deemed the “future of demolition derbies” by the announcer.

Lasting roughly 30-45 minutes, the participants battled it out in their cars and the numbers of competitors gradually dwindled. Eventually, the competition was down to two 12-year-old Palmerton residents: Greyson Ahner in No. 83, a 2001 Camry, and Shane George in No. 13, a 1994 Toyota Corolla.

Both finalists were actually best friends as Ahner later said they had known each other since they were practically babies. The fact that the competition was down to the two of them at the end was Ahner’s favorite part of the derby.

Eventually, George emerged victorious, winning the $350 prize. When asked what he planned on doing with the money, he said that he would probably use it to buy another car for competitions.

When both boys were asked why they initially started doing demolition derbies, they both stated that they were inspired by their fathers who often competed in them. Additionally, they expressed that they had a lot of fun and would continue competing in the future moving forward.