MOSES LAKE – During the second day of the Demo Derby, the Moses Lake Round Up organization honored Vern Hellewell as the first inductee into the Moses Lake Demo Derby Hall of Fame. Hellewell said he has been participating in the event since it first started at the fairgrounds. 

“I was there from the beginning and from that point until (today) it’s just been tremendous,” said Hellewell.  

He earned his spot through his years of hard work and dedication to the derby and helping ensure that the event is possible every year. 

“He’s a big part of the demo, he’s the one that helped get numbers out there for the Rodeo Association to have a demo,” said Aaron Schrodt, organizer for the Moses Lake Demo Derby. “The amount of community service that he does is just amazing, loves doing what he can for this community and just all around an amazing dude.” 

His career started when he was 18 after going with a friend to race in Soap Lake, where he began building a passion for racing and eventually moved from racing in Soap Lake to Ephrata. He said during this time, he was also building demo cars for other people in the area who were interested in getting involved.

“I am a pretty good mechanic, so I helped build the cars, tune them and make them run the best they can,” he said. “I taught all those guys (at the derby) all about it so that they could do it also.” 

When Hellewell had children, they would end up growing up seeing work being done on the cars and the races being held around the Basin. As they got old enough, they would follow in their his footsteps and would build their cars and participate in races with the help of their father. 

He joined the very first demo derby held at the Grant County Fairgrounds after another friend asked if he could build a car for the derby in Hellewell’s shop. He said he took the friend to the derby and has been involved ever since. 

Over the years, he has seen the derby go from around 20 cars involved to having a maximum of 100 cars one year. Hellewell and his demo crew with Hard Rock Farm also make sure to supply many of their own cars to ensure that the event has plenty of vehicles to keep attendees entertained, which can be seen distinctly as the yellow rigs out in the arena. 

“At one point, we actually had enough cars that I took that we had our own race,” said Hellewell. 

He believes they took in 16 cars that year. 

“Any person that’s watched the demo, they know the yellow cars,” said Schrodt. “We’d have 20 yellow cars out in the arena and stuff like that and it’s because of Vern that he caused that to happen.”  

The main goal for Hellewell in his work with the demo derby is to build up the next generation of drivers and mechanics, build relations with those people, and ensure everyone has a fun time. He said it first started with his children, but over time, it has spread to anyone involved in the community, who are all now carrying on his legacy in the demo derby. 

“When they gave me that award, all the people that were out there in the arena are very close to me, and a lot of them were just young men that are 20-25 years younger than I am and their families,” said Hellewell. “I just enjoyed having all of them involved.” 

Alongside the demo derby, Hellewell stays involved in the community around Moses Lake, one of which is the Watch DOGS program at Peninsula Elementary School. He said the program works to get more male involvement in the education process and provides a role model for students who might need it.  

He joined the program around 14 years ago when one of his granddaughters was still attending the school. 

“My grandkids are all out of school now, but I knew all the staff and I knew so many kids that I just continued to go,” he said. 

He said he wants to keep giving back to the community in whatever ways possible and will continue his work with the Moses Lake Demo Derby into the future. 

“My love for that demo derby is just unreal,” said Hellewell. “There were a lot of people that loved it, I just had the opportunity to help out quite a few and I feel blessed because I was able to do that.” 

    Vern Hellewell is surrounded by family and friends after receiving his award and being inducted into the Moses Lake Demo Derby Hall of Fame. He said one of his main goals has been to teach the next generation of demo drivers and mechanics and form bonds with the community that has been built over the years.
  

    One of the yellow cars built by Hard Rock Farm Demo Crew driving through a heat race during the Moses Lake Demo Derby. Hellewell said he and the crew at Hard Rock Farm work to ensure there are always plenty of cars for the demo derby every year.
  

    During one of the earlier races on the second day of the demo derby, Vern Hellewell had the honor to raise the checkered flag declaring the winner of the race. Alongside the demo derby, Hellewell has been involved in many other community services including the Watch DOGS program at Peninsula Elementary.