TOPSHAM — The crinkled No. 9 minivan sped around an infield littered with chunks of vehicular carnage and slammed into a red, white and blue Volvo SUV, pinning it against the concrete barriers. Behind the wheel of the van was Josh Dube of Auburn. Andrew Higgins of Durham chased Dube in the SUV between immobile, crumpled vehicles to the other side of the dirt infield. Dube spun around and reversed into the back of Higgins’ vehicle, then made another lap and slammed into the front of the SUV. 

That was the end of the SUV and made Dube the winner of the van and truck demolition derby held on the final day of the Topsham Fair Sunday afternoon. 

Dube crawled out of his car and onto the roof and threw his hands in the air, drawing cheers from the crowd.

After making his way to the announcers, he was handed his trophy and $750 in winnings, which Dube said he’d put toward rent.

“My adrenaline’s going nuts,” the 33-year-old said Sunday after his win.

Dube competes in most of the Topsham derbies and all of the demolition derbies at the Cumberland and Oxford fairs.

“Trucks, vans, small cars, big cars, I love it,” he said. “Where else can you hit somebody like that, keep hitting them and not go to jail?”

He won the full-sized car heat in front of a record crowd during the Saturday night demolition derby. He went on to the final feature round where he was defeated by Josh Brown of Pownal. Kris Merrill took second that night.

He got the demolition derby bug two falls ago when he competed in his first contest.

“You always want to try to hit going backward,” Dube said. “Hit with your back and save your front. Aim for tires.” 

Normally the drivers with more experience do better, Dube said. Competitors have to get their car through the initial heat and be one of the two top finishers to make it to the final feature.

The demolition derby at the Topsham Fair is a good show, Dube said, and he aims to be the crowdpleaser.

“If I could do this every day and win, I wouldn’t work,” he said. 

dmoore@timesrecord.com