Demo Joe, Congrats on the 2011, Lodi Ag Fair 1st place win....

and

4th at the 2011 Richland County Fair.

along with

Beau Dittberner who got 3rd at the 2011 Richland County Fair.

Good Job Guys!!!

Demo Joe and the McDittHam Derby Team has been having fun, smashing cars since 2001.  Bob Hamann started the fun with the 1st car in 2001. The kids spray painted it and wired a 3 foot stuffed muskey fish on it. Bob had a blast and that's where it all started. The next year Demo Joe & Big Mike joined him, for a  3 man team.

The highlights of this demo team has been the 2007 Friday night 1st place win by Demo Joe, and this summer 2008, Brittany M. (*see picture) 1st place win at the Columbia County fair..... Mike built an awesome car!

McGettigan a smash hit at demo derby

Less than two weeks after turning 16 and getting her driver's license, Brittany McGettigan didn't wait long to smash up her car.

The 16-year-old junior-to-be from Lodi didn't get a stern talking-to from her parents after smashing her car up like an old soda can. She instead got the first-place trophy and the top prize money after winning the feature of Sunday night's demolition derby at the Columbia County Fair in Portage.

McGettigan became hooked on demolition derbies while watching her father Mike and his good friend Joe Dittberner prepare cars and compete in area derbies in recent years.

McGettigan said she always wanted to climb into the driver's seat of a demo car and eventually convinced her parents to let her take part in the Columbia County Fair's derby once she got her driver's license.

"I always have been to all the demos watching them and it just looked like a lot of fun. I was always bothering my dad, saying, ‘when I get my license, I'm going to do it,'" McGettigan said. "It took a while to convince my mom, but my dad, he was alright with it. My dad said, ‘if you get your license, you can drive in the Portage derby.' So that was a lot of motivation to get my license."

On July 15th, one day after her 16th birthday, McGettigan passed her driver's test and drove off with her first license. Twelve days later she was at the fair taking part in her first derby.

"I just hoped I could keep the car running. My dad said that he built a real good car and it should keep running," McGettigan said. "I was just nervous, but I got through it with adrenaline. The first heat was real short, but the feature lasted forever. I think it lasted for like 25 minutes. When my car killed the first time, I thought I was done and I was so scared. I had to keep trying to start it and it started every time."

Once in the feature, McGettigan's car kept running until she was the last one going. Even after the air horn sounded, signalling the end of the feature, McGettigan said she wasn't sure if she had actually won the event.

"I actually didn't realize that I had won when I got out of the car, because they blew the air horn and they told me to get out and they were all congratulating me and I kind of figured it out," McGettigan said. "I was really excited, but I was kind of shooken up, because they were hitting me hard, but it was fun though."

It was so much fun that McGettigan hopes to do it again.

"I think I will be in the Lodi Fair Friday night next year and hopefully Portage again next year."

thouslet@capitalnewspapers.com

..more pictures to come

This article from the Lodi Enterprise July 2008

Lodi driver says

'Talk derby to me'

The sights and sounds of a demolition derby are unmistakable. The senses are overwhelmed with the roar of engines, the smell of burning oil and the crunch of metal on metal annihilation.

After the fires are extinguished and the smoke subsides only one vehicle emerges victorious.

Lodi resident Joe Dittberner was last year's winner of Lodi's demolition derby. As he puts the finishing touches on his vehicles of destruction, he hopes history will repeat itself.

"Last year I was lucky enough to win," he says. "You have to be lucky. There are a lot of details, it's not just ripping the car apart and putting a motor in there. If you want to win you have to pay attentions to the details."

For the past eight years Dittberner has been competing in the big car class of the derby, however this year he will also try his luck in the truck class.

"Trucks are one heat so you don't have to bring any spare parts," he says. "The last one running wins. That's what I'm looking forward to with the trucks, just going out and having fun and not having to worry about bringing tools, tires or a generator."

With the car classes there are more than one round so a driver needs to be prepared for whatever could go wrong. Dittberner says he usually brings a couple pick-up trucks full of parts and equipment from belts to generators to keep his cars running.

"If you have something go wrong with the car you might have the chance to fix it and bring it back the next day,' he says. "Usually after (a derby) you'll see a car that had no dents in it with it's back end crunched up and the bumper high off the ground."

Dittberner got a late start in the derby business but has learned a lot from drivers Doug Pulsfus and Pete Schmitt who have been in it for decades.

"I was a little late because I'm in my 40s," he says. "A lot of guys started in their 20s. I always went to the fair and watched the derby. My buddy Bob Hamann and I were sitting one night drinking some beers and said, 'Hey, we got to do this next year.' So we bought a small car and got our butts handed to us."

The journey to building the perfect derby car is a long and expensive one. Dittberner says cars usually run between $200-$400 but that's only the beginning. After putting in a rebuilt motor, transmission and other miscellaneous parts the bill is over $2,000.

"For the big cars the top prize is $1,000 which sounds like a lot of money at first until you take everything into account," he says. "You don't do it for the money, I can tell you that right now. If you're thinking that $1,000 is going to make you a rich person it's the wrong idea. It's for the bragging rights and the thrill of the sport."

When spending nearly 80 hours getting a car ready for a derby Dittberner says it is important to pay attention to details. The two most important aspects of a derby vehicle is a good running engine and a rust free car.

"I took one car up to a derby in Baraboo that was a little rustier than I thought," he says. "I got hit and the frame dropped out. And when the frame drops out you pack up and go home."

Fear is unknown to the demolition derby driver and Dittberner says that's the way he likes it.

"The best way to do it is not to think about it," he says. "You're sitting in a car with five gallons of racing fuel behind you and the motor is right there with holes in the dash."

Dittberner says he hasn't been injured while running in a derby but he does get sore. To protect himself he wears a helmet, neck brace. long pants and sleeves and builds the cars so the gas tank is secure. He also builds a three point cage inside the vehicle to enhance the strong points.

Born and raised in Lodi, Dittberner said the local derby is his favorite to run in.

"I think it is important that Lodi is one of the last free fairs in Wisconsin," he says. "I may win and I may not but I am hoping the stands are full."

Lodi has been running a demolition derby as part of the agricultural fair since the 50s. It is the biggest money maker for the fair.

The demolition derbies are Friday, July 11 and Saturday July 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the grandstand. The cost is $10 and tickets are available at the gate of the Grandstand starting at 6 p.m. the night of the show.

 Demo Joe- 608-712-8188   Lodi WI 53555