Abbie Winterrose, a 16-year-old Wasatch High School student from Heber, won the youth co-ed division at the Summit County Fair Demolition Derby for the fourth consecutive year on Saturday, August 1, steering her 1984 Crown Victoria to the win with eight hits before a sold-out crowd in Coalville.

"I just love the adrenaline you get on derby day," Winterrose told TownLift.

Winterrose and her father tinker on the Crown Vic together between competitions. She placed second at her hometown derby in Heber the week before Saturday's event.

The evening opened with a kids' competition in plastic toy cars and an audience-voted Best Paint Job contest before multiple heats of adult competition, with drivers vying for a total prize purse described as tens of thousands of dollars. Temperatures hit 100 degrees, but the packed grandstands didn't thin out.

Summit County Council Member Megan McKenna, a Park City native who has attended the derby since she was a teenager, drove the Fair Royalty Court on a lap around the inside of the stadium in a truck for the second consecutive year. McKenna, now in her second year on the council, told TownLift it was "a great night and a huge happy crowd" and said she hoped attendees left feeling connected to their community.

In the first minute of the opening heat, a crash prompted an immediate stop. A wrecker removed the damaged car from the perimeter barricade, EMTs reached the driver, and within minutes the driver climbed out on his own and walked to a waiting ambulance. The crowd applauded.

Beyond the grandstands, the fairgrounds featured bounce houses, food trucks, a beer garden, spill-over seating with large screens, and a live band playing country music covers.

Full results:

  • Old Iron: Case Barker, Car #3.14, 44 hits
  • Limited Weld: Spencer Jacobsen, Car #X25, 20 hits
  • 80s: Seth Dompier, Car #87, 53 hits
  • Youth: Abbie Winterrose, Car #X20Jr, 8 hits
  • Mini Cars: Cache Larsen, Car SPAZ, 26 hits

The Summit County Fair, which fair manager Tyler Orgill told KPCW he estimated would draw 30,000 people this year, continues through Saturday, August 8. The county has invested $15 million in fairgrounds improvements since 2017. The three-night PRCA Rodeo runs Thursday, August 6, through Saturday, August 8, at 8 p.m. in Coalville.