“People like to see wrecks,” said Darrell Clark of the North Webster Lions Club. So why not just get rid of all that racing business and get down to the good stuff? Well, the answer to that question will lie buried in the mud of the 16th Annual Mermaid Festival Demolition Derby, taking place at 7 p.m., Saturday, June 27.

Last year, according to Clark, the winning vehicle was down to the rims and still spitting mud. The standing room only crowd was on its feet to hail the battered victor, the only one of 20 cars still moving under its own power.

“They put on a good show,” observed Clark, one of the organizers of the event. He spends most of the derby towing the vanquished vehicles from the field of battle. “They’re all friends, but we’re talking about bragging rights … they really get into it.”

The winner takes all in this automotive combat. The more entrants, the bigger the prize. Participants are required to register beforehand and men and women are invited to compete in the same contest. The rules require the doors to be chained closed, the gas tank must be inside the body, a hole is cut in the hood in case of engine fire and all glass must be removed. Of course, all contestants must wear a seat belt and a helmet.

“Each year it seems to grow,” Clark said. Many of the drivers come from competing area junkyards. Before last year’s event, spokesman Gene Derolf said, “We are really hoping to expand this to bring in more riders … We really want to take the derby to the next level. We want to give the crowd the show of their life, and not leave until every last car is done.”

Cars smashing into cars, desperate maneuvering, pile-ups and one-on-one skirmishes, all amidst flying mud clods and billowing smoke from damaged engines will be sure to provide the spectacle Derolf had in mind.