Sports : Demo Derby\'s name a reminder of how much Stanley loved such events

When Jerry Stanley wasn't working or spending time with family, he was doing what he loved most: Getting ready for the next demolition derby.

“He was always in his shop working on cars. He even built a mash car one year,” says Stanley's daughter, Lauren Carolan-Stanley. “People called him the Demo King. But besides demoing he also loved the races; he built a 4-by-4 Jeff Gordon car for a push truck. He just was the guy who loved the adrenaline it gave him and a guy who loved seeing how happy people were."

That Gordon-themed Camaro was a frequent site at the annual Vinton Cruise until it was sold to someone from another state.

One of Stanley's long-time friends, Danny Dvorak, said Stanley loved “outlaw” type events such as the Night of Destruction held each year at the Benton County Fair.

“He worked hard (at his roofing business) and he would spend a whole year getting a car ready for the Demo Derby,” said Dvorak, who said he and Stanley had been friends since they were young children. Dvorak, who usually races on Sundays, performed stunts in Friday's Night of Destruction and drove a car in the Demo Derby named after his friend.

Stanley won some first-place trophies and was a regular at the races and Demo Derby until his death in a snowmobile accident. In 2000, a few months after his death, the flag tower at the races was dedicated to Stanley. And for years, the annual Demo Derby has also been held in his honor.