MOUNT VERNON — It was like
a flashback from years past.
Centerburg’s Lafe Johnson, who was a longtime friend of the late John Parker
Jr., gave the huge crowd at the Knox County Fairgrounds 2010 Demolition Derby
a moment that brought back fond memories on Monday evening.
In a move that Parker pulled off many times in years past, Johnson threw his
car into reverse, charged diagonally across the mud-slicked arena and plowed
into a pair of cars. Both cars were disabled and a third was trapped.
“Yeah, it was a good prime opportunity to ‘let her talk to me’ so,
that’s what I did,” said Johnson, who painted the name “Jitterbug” on
the front fenders of his car as a tribute to Parker, who drove a car with the
same name.
Johnson barely sustained damage as he, Mount Vernon’s Scott Arnett and
Fredericktown’s Brian McKeever all moved on to the feature heat.
“It takes a lot of time building these cars,” said Johnson. “This
car and the other two beside me were in dedication of the late John Parker. I’ve
been in this since I was 16 and I’ve been doing this 12 years. (Parker)
taught me so much.”
