Crashing into other cars and creating mayhem for other drivers is the name of the game this Saturday at the Deseret Peak Demolition Derby.

Gates open at 4 p.m. and the extreme contact sport begins at 6 p.m. at the motorized arena at Deseret Peak Complex. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for children.

“Tooele County Search and Rescue started the derby 20 years ago,” said derby chairman Rob Bender. “When we first started there used to be only a few demolition derbies around, but now there are more and more in the state. There are 10 derbies this month.”

Another demolition derby sponsored by the sheriff’s department is scheduled for the Tooele County Fair on Aug. 2 and payouts will be greater for that derby.

Payouts are still quite high for Saturday’s derby with the first place winner collecting $2,000, the second-place car taking home $1,200 and the third-place entry collecting $700.

To keep action moving between heats and grudge matches, this year’s event will include figure 8 racing. Cars race, but are required to make contact with other cars at least once every two laps. If they don’t make contact, they lose points.

“The car that actually crosses the finish line first, may not be the winner unless they have made contact with other cars several times during the race,” Bender said.

The organizer is a NASCAR fan and said that most of the excitement of a NASCAR event comes when there is a crash. He believes people like to watch demolition derbies because they like to see big crashes.

An estimated 6,000 fans watched last year’s demolition derby and attendance should be about the same this year.

Last year Rick Andrews of Salt Lake City won the top prize with Lake Point resident Jeff Quibell finishing second.

Grantsville’s Bruce Hiatt and Salt Lake’s Steve Gunn tied for third place.

The winners of each heat will receive $100 and the most aggressive driver will receive $200.

The demolition derby in August will include more vehicles and the prize money is greater with $2,700 for first, $1,700 for second and $1,000 for third.

Figure 8 payout is based on entry fees and for Saturday the pot should be about $1,000.

The motorized arena at Deseret Peak Complex includes a large grandstand that can hold between 7,500-12,000 fans.

mwatson@tooeletranscript.com