Trumansburg demolition derby roars into fairgrounds - Ithaca Journal
TRUMANSBURG – Behind the grandstand of the Trumansburg Fairgrounds under a cloudy, quickly darkening sky, Jay Milligan climbed upon the hood of a battered Ford and called out to the two dozen or so drivers milling in a sea of stripped-down cars... But for 53 years, Milligan’s family company, JM Productions, has been staging derbies throughout New York state. “I started painting numbers and doing the white lines on the track when I was 10,” Milligan said. Tuesday night was the first of several heats at the Trumansburg Fair, a tournament of vehicular carnage twisting a bracket to Sunday’s championship heat. There are several pools: one for four-cylinder cars, a six- and eight-cylinder hybrid class, a round for pickups and SUVs, and one for mini-vans. The two cars left standing after that go to Syracuse for a bid at the state title, Sept. 6 at the New York State Fair. They do it because they love doing it, they want to be the best in the county and have the chance to be the best in the state. Several weeks ago, 18-year-old Emmitt Houston, of Danby, and his cousin used a spare $250 to buy a beaten-up, six-cylinder 2000 Chevy Malibu. Where some teens are looking to buy their first car — a milestone for many — Houston had different ideas. “I pretty much tore it apart, got it ready to go for the derby,” Houston said. Source: www.ithacajournal.com
