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DEFENDING CHAMP RONNIE SMITH WILL WAIT A WEEK

By Chuck Corder

Ronnie Smith knows he has the perfect car to defend his Demolition Derby title Friday night at Five Flags Speedway.

How is the 40 year old so sure?

Because it’s the same Crown Victoria LTD model that won him the heavy metal-crunching championship last year.

“It has been sitting in a lot all year,� Smith said. “We brought it to the shop the other day and unloaded it. We had to put a right front tire and wheel on it. Some new spark plugs and we changed the gas. It doesn’t look like a ‘Demo’ Derby car.�

Since last year’s thrilling Demo Derby — an event some 30 years in the making — this Friday has become one of the most-anticipated nights on the Five Flags 2012 schedule.

But the famed half-mile asphalt oval’s legions of fans have plenty of other reasons to be excited about the jam-packed evening.

The Sportsman Spectacular will see the Sportsmen turn 50 laps around Pensacola’s high banks to win a cool $1,000. Other than the Snowball Derby in December, it marks the only other time that division gets to run that many laps and it’s by far its biggest payout to the winner of the regular season.

Plus, the Modifieds continue their season in what has become the closest points race of the track’s six divisions.

The Bombers will run, as well, but the event that is running a close second to the Demo Derby for excitement will be the Faster Pastor Race.

The inaugural race will see local pastors — several of which have never been behind the wheel or a racecar — try to stay out of the wall for a great cause. Proceeds from the event will be donated to United Cerebral Palsy.

To top it all off, admission is only $5 when the gates open at 5 p.m. Friday. And that’s for everybody and their mamas, not just a specific age group.

The pastors will start things off at 8 and the junkyard dogs in the Demo Derby will put the cherry on top and close the night out.

Smith hopes to be the last man standing once again. Despite what the constant kidder might have you believe.

“It’s an honor to have that somewhat of a title. I’d rather it be the Snowball Derby than a Demo Derby, but I guess you take whatever you can get,� Smith joked, being completely tongue-and-cheek.

“I told my wife earlier, it must be pretty bad if I’m getting recognition for crashin’ up cars.�

The one-time Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series track champion a few years back recalled some fond memories when the old beat-up Crown Vic plopped down at the shop earlier this week.

“We got the cobwebs out of it and the bugs. Literally, bugs,� Smith said. “There’s no telling what has been living in there for the year. I said we should set some of those fumigate bombs just to be on the safe side.�

Otherwise the car looks prime with few signs of its abusive history from last year.

“We did a lotta hittin’ that night,� Smith stressed. “It’s gonna be used up again this time, too. Hopefully, I don’t get teamed up on. A couple people have been saying I have a bull’s eye on my back and they’re going to try and knock me out quick.�

Don’t bet on that.

Champions, whether they’re from Snowball Derby or Demolition Derby lore, have an instinct to reign supreme.

Ronnie Smith is a former Marine who came out of the stands to pursue his racing dreams one non-descript Friday night at Five Flags.

He oozes what a champion is all about on and off the track.

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