Antioch, CA — Ryan Chivers collected the $5,000 payday for his win in the Destruction Derby on Saturday night at the Contra Costa County Fair. The special Derby arena was made on the front straightaway of Antioch Speedway, and Fairgoers looked on as Chivers delivered the most punishment in collecting the win.
The competitors came to Antioch on a somber note as Derby driver Mike Doyle Jr passed away early in the morning. The flag was raised at half mast in his honor. Doyle was the son of long time Derby driver Mike Doyle Sr, who was one of the top competitors of the 1990s. As the Derby community was in mourning, some of the drivers who had intended to compete did not show. The ones who did, however, gave their best effort.
They ran a couple of heat races, which were designed more to warm the cars up than anything else. Once a driver delivered a specified number of hits, they were declared the winner. Chivers won the first heat, but unfortunately there were two scratches for the evening at the end of that contest. Tyson Moreland won the other heat and figured to be the most competition for Chivers.
Ryan Chivers #82 delivered the final blow to second place finisher Josh Tagliabashi #3. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Chivers ended the event for David Bong, who ended up with the Mad Dog award prize money. Meanwhile, Chivers and Josh Tagliabashi managed to put an end to the effort for Moreland, who picked up a $1,500 payday for third. Chivers dealt the final blow to Tagliabashi, who still left the event with $2,500 for second. This left Chivers collecting the $5,000 prize as the winner of this year’s Contra County Fair Destruction Derby.
Antioch Speedway was well represented at the County Fair with a booth all four days. The IMCA Modified at Kellen Chadwick, IMCA Stock Car of Rich Quadrelli, Wingless Spec Sprint of Rick Panfili and the Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stock of James Graessle were all there. Full color fliers were handed out to Fairgoers throughout the event, and family passes were raffled off each night.
A look at the Coco Farms Calendar finds the Wingless Spec Sprints in action this Saturday night, joined by the Delta Dwarf Cars, Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stocks and IMCA Stock Cars.
For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
