Thirteen of the 16 entries in the Deseret Peak Demolition Derby on Friday night were from Tooele County, but the top two finishers were not.

In the final heat the last two drivers still moving were Johnny Gullo of West Haven and Russ Slater from Slaterville. Both were close friends in high school in Weber County and according to Slater, he taught Gullo everything he knows.

This time, however, Gullo won the top prize of $2,000 with Slater in second to win $1,200 and Michael Evans of Tooele in third to grab $700.

The fact that somebody from Tooele County did not win did not sit well with Zeb Hansen who was voted “most aggressive driver” at the event to win $1,000.

“They sandbag,” Hansen said of the Weber County rivals.

“They just don’t hit as much as the other cars and they are pretty smart drivers,” he said. “When you go to hit them they turn their cars so you face the driver’s door.” It’s illegal to hit the driver’s door.

“I wish all the Tooele guys would have teamed up on them, but the Tooele guys have their own feuds going on,” Hansen said.

Gullo and Slater did not look like the best of friends when they were the last two still moving in the arena at Deseret Peak Complex.

Gullo would back up as far as possible and run head on into Slater. The metal in the front of Slater’s car crumpled up so much that Slater could not see out his front windshield.

After about the fifth head-on collision. Slater took his flag and threw it back at Gullo to concede the derby.

“If you have to get beat it might as well be by one of your best friends and high school buddy,” Slater said. “I could hear him keep coming at me, but I couldn’t see him. I threw the flag so he would quit hitting me.”

Gullo said his car was built to win and he did learn most of his technique over the years from Slater.

Prior to the event a couple of drivers at the derby said they knew that Slater would be tough to beat.

“I’ve been in 150 derbies and won 40 to 50 of them,” Slater said.

When the derby started at about 6:40 p.m. hard rain drenched the fans and turned the arena into a mud bog.

“The mud really slowed things down, but that’s the way I like it,” Slater said. “I just love the adrenaline. I used to like running into people driving bumper cars when I was a kid and this is like bumper cars for adults.”

Although he did not win the main event, Zeb Hansen did have a good weekend of derby driving. Along with his $1,000 as most aggressive driver, he won $100 in his preliminary heat and then on Saturday he won $500 more at a demolition derby in West Jordan.

Hansen, 19, has competed in about seven demolition derbies overall and won the “most aggressive driver” last August at the Tooele County Fair Demolition Derby.

“This year I actually wanted to hold back and not drive as hard and try to make it to the end so I really wasn’t trying to be all that aggressive, but they voted me most aggressive anyway,” Hansen said.

Zeb is the son of Ed Hansen of Tooele who used to drive in demolition derbies for years, but now just helps his sons with their cars. Ed’s other sons, Jacob and Jed, also participated Friday night. Jacob competed in the Figure 8 race and Jed competed in the derby. Ed’s son-in-law Lance Anderson also competed in the derby.

“I did derbies every weekend back in the 1970s and my kids have all grown up going to demolition derbies,” Ed said.

Leading from the start and finishing first in the Figure 8 race was Matt Unrein of Tooele.

After the initial downpour it was a great night for a demolition derby last Friday. Fans, however, can hope for better weather and should see a larger number of entrants for the next demolition derby at Deseret Peak Complex on Aug. 1.

Prize money for first place at the Tooele County Fair Demolition Derby will be $2,700 with $1,700 for second and $1,000 for third.

Mark Watson: mwatson@tooeletranscript.com