When Jason Herboth returned from Afghanistan with the Illinois National Guard's Bravo Company in June, he and his comrades were greeted by throngs of well-wishers at the Effingham County Fairgrounds.

Last Saturday, Herboth must have experienced a sense of deja vu.

Piloting a 1975 Chrysler Newport, Herboth drove to victory in the Effingham County Fair's 42nd annual auto demolition derby, as the 28-year-old Teutopolis man collected $1500 for his efforts after disposing of 11 foes in a feature event which lasted 25 minutes. The victory was the second of his career but his first ever on the local track, and it came before a cheering, capacity crowd.

Herboth, who was a multi-sport athlete at Teutopolis High School and lettered on the Wooden Shoes' 1999 state runner-up baseball team, also made history by joining father Mike as one of the few father-son duos ever to win the Effingham County Fair title. The elder Herboth copped the championship in 1983, 1986, 1989, and 1996.

Larry Zerrusen (1984) and sons Don (1982, 1985) and Scott (1986) were the first to turn the trick, with Zerrusen's grandson Lee Ruholl (2003) giving the family a third-generation champion.

But last weekend it was the Herboth contingent which took center-stage, with Jason, brother Travis, and cousin Brian Herboth all qualifying for the feature event. At the end of the night, hard-luck Brian took runner-up, while Effingham's Derrick Walls finished third.

"I know how bad Brian wants to win this," said Jason, referring to the fact his cousin has finished in the top-three at the local fair on numerous occasions, but without a victory. "One thing about Brian is that he likes to hit hard. When it came down to the two of us, I was pretty sure I was about to get my world rocked."

The Herboth cousins slammed each other headlight-to-headlight several times at the end of the feature, much to the delight of the near 4000 spectators in attendance. When the dust settled, Jason admitted that he was as surprised as anyone by the outcome.

"The front-end of my car was still straight after the (elimination) heat, but the back-end was screwed," said Jason, whose trunk and quarter panels had been pushed into the area once occupied by the rear window. "I expected to make about four or five hits before somebody knocked out the driveshaft or broke one of my axles. I guess it just goes to show that you should never give up.

"I never thought I would win," added Jason, who was nearly injured earlier in the evening when another competitor's front bumper punctured his driver-door. "The odds are against you, and there is a lot of luck involved. The cards just fell my way."

Among the vanquished were locals Rob Harder, Joe Cripe, and Tim Koester, with 11 combined Effingham County Fair feature victories.

"It's nice," said Jason, "to be on a list with an elite group like that, because as far as I'm concerned, they are the best in the area."

In other action last Saturday, Koester captured the fair's first pick-up truck demolition derby in 15 years, with Brian Herboth finishing second and Todd Koester taking third. Ray Miller, of Yale, outlasted Mark McPeak (Louisville) and Reed Pollard (Salem) in the compact division.

But it was Jason Herboth who walked away with the biggest prize of the evening, which only added to his growing list of fond memories in 2009 at the Effingham County Fairgrounds.

"As far as this surrounding area, folks have always been very supportive of the military," Jason said. "When I came home in June, it was on a Monday, and people were lined up all the way from Effingham to Altamont. When you see something like that, it's a good feeling."

The local demolition derby circuit heads next to the Cumberland County Fair, at Greenup, where action is slated for Aug. 29 at 6:30 p.m.