Bob Moody may be celebrating his 20th year on the fair board this year, but he has been going to the fair for much longer than that.
“My family has been going for almost our whole lives,” Moody said. “I think we missed one fair but that’s it.”
Moody has been in charge of the demolition derby for approximately 10 years, having been chosen for this role because he used to participate in the derby as a driver.
Moody started competing at the fair when he was a kid showing cows and now enjoys supporting his granddaughter, who has also taken to showing cattle.
Moody eventually switched from showing cows to smashing cars at the county fair and once at the state fair.
Moody has seemingly passed down his derby skills as his son, Andy, won the Friday night derby at last year’s fair. Moody said his favorite part of working on the derby is working with the derby crew and meeting the drivers.
“I like all the drivers, and I get to meet a lot of them,” Moody said. “It’s always nice seeing the new drivers win for the first time.”
This year the track will feature a “chain and bang” derby which is an old-school derby style. This means cars have minimal modification and will not be welded together like they usually are.
The derbies will be held Monday and Friday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased online at delawarecountyfair.org or at Hodges Welding Machine, 53 Liberty Street, Walton, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
