Combine combat

LIND –– The lone driver from Lincoln County made his presence felt Saturday, June 10, during the annual Lind Lion's Club Combine Demolition Derby.

Farmers from across the state brought their battle-ready combines to Lind to see which would still be running at the end of a weekend.

William Mann of Sprague drove the Ritzville-based "Suds."

The combines competed in five heats, with the fifth marking the grand finale.

This year, several teams entered the derby. And several cars, pickups and two grain trucks entered the time trials and head-to-head races on Friday and Saturday.

The official results were not reported before press time.

It seemed as though alcohol was a common theme for the derby as Mann, 25, entered the arena driving Sprague-based "Suds," named, he said, for the head and bubbles found in an alcoholic beverage.

"When I asked about the name of the people that run this, they were already drunk;" he said, jokingly. "So, we just decided to go with 'Suds and Bubbles.' We put two beer flags on it and called it good."

Mann said he got his start by seeing the derby as a kid with his family. This was his second year competing in the derby.

"We figured we had nothing else better to do other than spend our money and waste some time, so we made a combine," he said. "You got to drink enough to be here. That's about it. It's good."

Mann added that riding the combine hurts.

"You feel it," he said. "It's painful. I got a couple of scars last year, and I'll find a couple from this year.

"We are going to leave with two wheels and maybe some combine."

LaCrosse's Cody Bennett, 32, is in his sixth year competing aboard "Fubar."

"I love crashing the combines," he said, noting a friend came up with the name.

"It stands for something, but it's not family appropriate," he said, noting most of his pit crew is from Whitman County.

"After its second year, we had everything figured out," he said.

In the pits, "Orange Crush," driven by Caleb Hannas, 29, also from Whitman County, sat next to "Fubar." The Hay native was ready for the day, recalling his start in 2016.

"There is some good competition. Some were just pieced together. It's hard to say how the competition will go today," Hannas said. "We have seven people on a crew, and all seven of 'em come back and help put it [the combine] back together for the final heat."

Stacking up the competition, Bennett, while nodding to "Orange Crush," said, "LaCrosse is better."

The two combines, "Orange Crush" and "Fubar," would face off in the Final 3 on the day. "Fubar" took the win.

It was the first heat of the day, which put "Orange Crush," of Hay, in the matchup against Lind's "Pour Life Choices." The combines lasted until the final horn and moved to the finale bracket together.

A tie for first place occurred in the second heat.

Tri-Cities-based "Jaws" and Lind's "The Extinguisher" battled it out against "LockJaw."

Cheney's "The Bandit," driven by Cody Kulm of Finley, was off to a rough start in the heat and could not get going. It took one hit before the driver, Kulm, pulled the flag and sat tight as he watched his fellow drivers battle for the title.

"Fubar" became a fast favorite among the stands in the third heat as driver Bennett left the arena with minor damage and in first place.

"Cornfed Cadilac" took second, with Lind's "Grain Digger" not too far behind in third.

"Last Ditch Effort" saw driver Eric Labes of Lind get a few good hits in before the machine began to stall and was eventually unable to continue.

The crowds roared and the beer garden got even louder as attendees witnessed the epic battle as "Fubar" crashed to first place on the day in the grand finale.

Six combines faced off in the small arena as dirt flew into the crowds, drivers nearly flew off of their combines, and the cheers roared through Lind.

Attractive combines were voted during the event and brought the title of "best dressed" to "Super Puncher" in third, "Last Ditch Effort" placed second and the best looking combine voted "Grain Digger."

By the end of the day, the best-dressed combines desperately needed a makeover and a cleaning, as did everyone else competing and attending.