Ashley Mellott

Ashley Mellott

The fair manager was on the far side of the grandstand away from the action. He could hear the screams of the crowd. "The female screams were overwhelming", he recalled, "they were so loud that I knew there must be a female running. I didn't realize then that the race was over and a
female had won."

On July 16, 2007, 19 year old Ashley Mellott of nearby Short Gap, West Virginia became the first female to win the Allegany County Fair and Ag Expo's Demolition Derby. Competing in a black 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier named, "She Devil" complete with pink flames and purple horns, Mellott was voted "Fans' Choice" for her particular heat, and then, as the final car still running and driving in reverse, went on to win the feature event comprised of the various winners of each heat.

After her win, and prior to standing on the hood of her car in victory and becoming sick, Ashley was quoted as saying, "All I wanted to do was get in one hard hit, just to prove that girls can do this, too."