By Alex Bridges -- Daily Staff Writer

BERRYVILLE — Devin digs demolition derbies.

The 2-year-old boy from Toms Brook waved his hand frantically and shouted "vrroooommm" as cars crashed and spun in the Figure 8 Demolition Derby at the Clarke County Fair on Tuesday night. His mother, Amy Newland, and father, Tim Wiles, both of Toms Brook, watched the new track at the Ruritan Club fairgrounds.

"Vrooomm," Devin said again.

They came to see Josh Wilkins, of Strasburg, keep his car running.

"We like it. This is our first time," Newland said, pointing to Wiles. "He goes to all the derbies."

Spectators filled the stands, and more stood outside the barricades to watch.

Drivers dodged Jersey walls and any stalled vehicles in the way as they weaved in and out of two monster-truck tires to make the figure eight. Engines sputtered, and cars careened across the muddy track, usually into one another.

Four-car pileups became the norm but didn't always put vehicles out of commission.

Announcer Delbert "Rudy" Rudolph, with R&R Productions, added color to his blow-by-blow coverage.

"The object here is to make a figure eight. The object also is, if you're behind, give the guy in front of you a little whack," Rudolph told drivers and the audience. "Some of 'em we gotta train to make a figure eight — they're used to making figure sevens ..."

Joey Strosnider, of Wardensville, W.Va., stood by his car before the event, "gettin' ready for this to be a great derby." This would be his second time running his vehicle into the gantlet.

"Last year was a lot of fun, so I decided to do it again," Strosnider said. "You get banged up a little bit, moved forward, but in the end it's all worth it. You put a lot of time into the car, and it makes it fun."

Drivers such as Strosnider have to strip their vehicles down to the bare essentials, removing lights and most of the upholstery. They reinforce the driver-side door with a steel brace and lock down hoods and trunk lids with chains to keep them from popping open. Drivers wear seat belts, helmets and safety glasses.

The heats began around 7 p.m., and cars raced around and around, pounding into one another, the walls and the large tires. Some vehicles started spewing steam or smoke from their engines after so many collisions. While many survived multiple laps around the track, some died after only a few hits. Front loaders and tractors came after each round to help push immovable cars off the track.

Rudolph gave the drivers a chance to take a practice lap or two but before one round, a driver may have started early — it didn't help.

"Aw, the No. 6 jumped the gun a little but that's OK, we'll fix his wagon," Rudolph said.

No. 6 would need to fix its own wagon.

* Contact Alex Bridges at abridges@nvdaily.com