Doin’ the demolition

Marisa O’Neil

As soon as the flag went down at the Orange Crush Demolition Derby,

the crunching began.

First-timer Windy Jones threw her pink 1974 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

into reverse and gunned it toward the middle of the ring. So did the

other eight drivers, ending up in a mass of twisted metal Saturday in

the Citizens Bank Arena at the Orange County Fair.

“The first hit was fine,” 24-year-old Jones said after the derby.

“I think I instigated it. But the first time I got hit on both sides

[together] I thought: ‘I’m not moving tomorrow. My boyfriend’s on

back-rub duty now.’”

Jones, a resident of Orange, went to last year’s derby and decided

she wanted to be in the ring, not the bleachers. With the help of

friends like Paul Bonaventure, who did some welding and

reinforcements on the car, she got her wish.

“It was a lot of hard work,” Bonaventure said. “What I did [on the

car] was to help keep her alive.”

Inside the muddy ring, the cars smashed into each other over and

over for more than 10 minutes. The drivers sped their cars into each

other backward, rather than head-on, to help keep their engines

intact.

The sound of crunching metal and stench of burning oil and rubber

filled the ring, as did plumes of smoke from some cars as they gave

up the ghost.

“I like the burning metal,” 11-year-old Austin Moses said. “It

looks real fun.”

Despite her best efforts, Jones was the first one out of the

competition.

Newport Beach resident Bobby Malanga’s 1982 Crown Victoria,

painted black and white with spray paint like a cut-rate police car,

seemed the next one destined for the junkyard. Its front bumper was

off, a tire looked all but flat and it sat immobile.

But the 18-year-old Malanga, who graduated from Newport Harbor

High School only weeks ago, was far from totaled. His car roared back

to life for some more hits before it started stalling out and,

eventually, catching fire.

Malanga took home a fourth-place trophy from his first derby. He

said he’d definitely do it again.

“At first I was nervous when I started getting hit,” he said. “But

it was so much fun.”

Corona resident Jon Schneider won the derby with his 1976 Lincoln.

He took home the $2,000 top prize.

Although Jones in her Monte Carlo didn’t win the derby, she won

$200 in the Best Appearing Car contest for her pink-painted car with

leopard spots on top. Jones herself wore a pink helmet and a white

jump suit with a skull and crossbones on the back. Her pit crew

sported black T-shirts bearing a pink “74” for her competition

number.

“I wish I lasted longer, but my engine gave out,” she said. “I got

in some good hits. But at least I won best-dressed.”

* MARISA O’NEIL may be reached at (949) 574-4268 or by e-mail at

marisa.oneil@latimes.com.